The Ones Left Behind
by Shirohige No Musume
Summary: When you're abandoned to fend for yourself amongst hordes of man-eating titans, the first thing you want is answers. It sucks if those answers are ones that no one wants to hear... Multiple OCs, titan OC
1. Live to Regret This

This fic was 'born' after reading an amazing list of fics, when I began to wonder, 'What happened to those people in the other 'Titan-bait Districts' on the outside of Wall Maria? What if there were people there that weren't able to make it to Wall Rose in time?' That, combined with the prompt idea for and the fic itself - 'The Monsters are on the Inside' - ended in this story here.

List of recommended fics(in order of influence on this story): 'The Monsters are on the Inside,' 'Laugh all You Want', 'That Freckled Boy I used to Know,' and a few good quality OC Self Insert stories like 'Witness', 'Messed Rebirth', and 'Bloody Silhouettes.' And 'Attack of the Otaku,' because it made me laugh and want to write something.

I just gleaned ideas from key fundamentals in these stories, there should be no copying... I would hope not because otherwise I'm not aware of it. 0.o

I have included Hanji, Eren and Levi in the character list, however they will not be making an appearance for some time. There will probably be no pairings.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

**Mentions of corpses in this chapter!** Nothing graphic, but if anyone is reminded of anything traumatic while reading, I apologise. Although, if you _do_ find something sensitive in this, you probably shouldn't be reading SnK in the first place...?

* * *

**~ Live To Regret This ~**

* * *

Darkness. Warmth. No, not warmth. Hotter than that. A type of suffocating heat.

'_? What…? …Where am I?'_

Disorientation. Sensations washing over me in jumbled flashes, as opposed to a coherent sensory input. Something abrasive scratching against my skin, stabs of light, various wafts of smell. A groan tears through the relative silence, breaking in a manner characteristic of an unused voice.

I try to move. My body, do I even have one anymore? This heat, it engulfs me completely, searing through my entire being, or what is left of it. Struggling avails nothing.

Panic.

Wading through murky half-thoughts, I fight to the surface. Fighting to maintain this tenuous hold on reason I have unexpectedly gained. Why? Why do I feel this urgent need to attain sanity? Finally, the truth of my own situation dawns on me.

'… _Ah._ _I woke up, huh?'_

Understanding, resignation. I can name these things I feel. I get it now, the heat, why I can't move. But, that still doesn't answer why.

I try to open my eyes; my body doesn't react to the command. How long has it been since I slept this time? Can I even control my own self anymore?

* * *

Hours might have passed, possibly days, as I fought to control my body. It was difficult; I felt rather like a demon trying to possess another being. Gradually, my body stopped moving of its own volition and fell to my authority, which was relieving, to say the least.

Now fully aware of myself, I began to recall snippets of memories that had been reaching my consciousness in infrequent bursts for easily a period of months before I roused.

'_Why am I awake? I didn't want to deal with this pain anymore…'_

My vocal chords were raspy and stiff from dis-use; I could barely form a single word, unlike before… It was tedious, but to strengthen my own control, I spent many days and weeks re-teaching myself the basics of speech and written language. Well, what I could remember anyway, although that was a surprisingly large amount in itself. When I wasn't attempting to write, attempting being the key word, I walked.

I wasn't sure where I was going; yet I knew I had been heading in this direction for a long time now. My path varied; sometimes I headed towards the rising sun, and other times my path drifted in towards another direction I remembered to be north.

'_What is there that I could be seeking?'_

I knew I was following something, yet my human senses were unable to decipher the strange magnetic attraction I felt. Despite that, whenever the tug waxed stronger, my non-existent heart clenched in nostalgia and a mess of emotions threatened to choke me.

'_Maa, this is too much trouble for what it's worth.'_

* * *

Despite the difficulties I had to endure for the supremacy of my spirit, the outside world made up for it in full. The landscape around me was beautiful as I walked, untempered by strange phantom images of cities and behemoth factories pouring pollution into the wholesome sky that my mind kept projecting around me. I hadn't been able to help but stare in wonder for the first few days at the _purity_ of this world. There really was no other word for it.

Grass crackling beneath oversized feet, the sun beating down on bare skin, the cool night breeze lifting tangled tresses of hair. The animals, the flowers, the trees, the streams and lakes; this whole world was painfully beautiful. It was almost enough to make me feel human again. Almost.

Only one thing in this world was imperfect. I didn't always come across them initially, but they became more frequent as I walked further. Those misshapen, grotesque beasts. 'Them'. And I as well.

I do not hate 'them', however; it is not their fault they are this way. These residual feelings of disgust and revolt towards 'them' must have lingered on from an earlier life. After all, these monsters do not intrude upon the world around them in any manner, keeping to themselves for the most part.

Every so often, I do come across one with more sentience than the others. However, I am usually forced to kill these 'deviants' - the word leaps unbidden to mind. They are the ones that are partially alerted to the fact I am, contrary to appearances, not like the rest of 'them'. It's a shame, really. They could have had the potential to wake up also. Well, if they hadn't come across me, that is.

I should imagine the person I was long ago would be appalled by such loose thoughts; but then again, probably not. I despise hypocrisy in every form, this much, I remember, has always rung true. I have always been aware of my every flaw and shortcoming; deliberately choosing to dig up my inner dark nature for closer examination, where other humans would be hurriedly burying, concreting, or sealing up their own demons, and then blindfolding themselves to their existence.

Pathetic. As if pretending they're not there will make them disappear. We are not children.

My thin lips pull up slightly at the corners as much as the taut skin would allow, a rhythmic rumble slipping through my teeth. My own cynicism has often been a source of personal amusement to myself, particularly the reaction of others to such a mindset. My amusement died upon realizing that I had let myself become caught in the past.

'_Still, it's not like I'm a pessimist. I merely have one of the most level-headed and open-minded mindsets I've ever come across, in any of my lives.'_

* * *

I hummed as I walked, various tunes rising from my memories to the front of my mind. I guess I must have listened to and sung them enough to recite them in my sleep at some time. Although, if I resonated with them half as deeply then as I did now, I could appreciate this.

My faulty vocal cords botched the words no end, but attempting to sing had been slowly making a difference to my speaking skills. It wasn't much, but being able to speak, regardless of how halting and slurred, warmed me inside.

'_This must be happiness, maybe hope. Then again, perhaps it's contentment… Ah, it's been too long. Emotions are difficult.'_

* * *

_~Break~_

* * *

I wasn't sure how long I had been conscious and wandering for now; but the earth had quickly passed from cool to snow, and then to fresh and new, followed too quickly by sweltering heat, and after a long time, back to the coolness I finally remembered to be 'autumn'. I figured it had to have been at least a year, since the seasons seemed to have cycled through, but it wasn't like I was in a hurry to get anywhere.

'_Glad summer's gone, finally.'_ I had really disliked the high levels of humidity, and the ferocity of the sun. Compiled with my normally scalding temperature, I had been dying of heat. _'I was running out of caves to shelter in.'_

Winter hadn't been of any particular hassle for me, as the snow had melted right off my heated skin; but summer on the other hand, had bothered and irritated me no end. I had, therefore, wasted a lot of the season hiding from the sun in large caves in the middle of the day, any that would fit my ridiculously large form, and I spent the time scratching out letters and words into the walls and ground. The lay of the land, much like the seasons, had changed greatly during my travels. I had to admit my deep gratitude for the caves.

* * *

There wasn't anything particular about that day; it had been autumn for over a month now, probably two. The wind tossed leaves around with fervour, swirling them through the air in beautiful chaos, and I was still revelling in the glorious cool following the heat of summer. The chill in the air heralded winter's arrival.

I had eventually noticed that the mysterious tug had, indeed, grown infinitely stronger as I had travelled, and my wanderings were mostly headed north to northeast by this stage. A strange feeling gripped me now, causing my blood to race and my head to spin, while also sinking hooks into my gut. Excitement, I finally recalled. With a touch of nerves on the side.

It was as I was rousing from a night's rest that I first saw it. I had cursed the solar-like capabilities of this body of mine ten thousand times over through the months, and was in the process of doing so again when something caught my eye. I raised my head blearily to look at whatever it was; even though we monsters are very lightweight, the lack of sun makes us intolerably sluggish in the morning.

'_Titans,'_ I corrected myself. I wasn't sure from where the word had come, but one day it had risen from the murky swamp of my old memories, and I knew it was the name for our kind. I couldn't be bothered differentiating between them and myself anymore.

I stared blankly for a few moments, trying to place a name to what I was seeing; which was difficult, as I wasn't even sure what I was looking at from this distance. It was a line. A thick blurry smudge of grey stretched out in a line across the landscape in the far distance.

'… _What the hell?'_ I elegantly expressed my confusion.

Perhaps it was an abyss, with a raised edge currently throwing a shadow? No, that wasn't right, the sun was still rising in the east while the line was north of me, stretching across from east to west. The sun would have to be rising from the north to create the right type of shadow for that. Also, ravines were rarely _that_ long.

Could it be a mountain range? That also wasn't likely; mountains were of differing heights and never formed such a solid barrier like what that _thing_ obviously was.

'… _It must be __something__ raised off of the ground, because it's certainly not a shadow at anytime of day. If I didn't know any better I'd almost think it was… a wall…'_

I let out a sharp cry of realisation, indistinct images racing through my mind. It was a wall! I didn't understand why I was certain of this, but there was no doubt in my mind whatsoever.

When I thought of walls, many sensations washed over me. Constricting. Shelter. Penning. Politics. Community. Conspiracies. Safe. _Danger._ I figured I knew where most of the positive thoughts came from, but I was stumped at the negative labels. Yet I also intuitively knew they were accurate to the point of precise. My intuition had yet to be wrong.

'_Well, I guess that's where I'm headed then.'_

Call me stupid for walking headfirst into something I'd already perceived as a danger, but when I'd sat down and deliberated my future earlier, I had come to the realisation that I don't have anything better to do.

* * *

The wall was further away then I previously estimated, and it took many days just to reach it. As I approached, I found myself disconcerted by the amount of titans I came across who were heading in the same direction I was. They usually steered clear of me for whatever reason; to see them so fascinated by the wall was disturbing, to say the least.

Well, I should correct myself; it wasn't the wall they were interested in per se, rather, the humans that dwelled on the other side. I knew this now. The tugging feeling in my gut finally made sense. It was some kind of human-tracking instinct. The thought made me sick; I clearly had all the inbuilt functions needed to hunt and eat people.

As I flowed with the small group, I realised there was something wrong, very wrong, with the wall. The picture that flashed behind my eyes in an afterimage showed a flawless monument stretching off into the distance as far as the eye could see. This wall was wrong. How could this…? There was no way…

There was a _hole_ in the wall. Well, considering the size of the wall, the hole itself wasn't that large; but that didn't seem to inconvenience the group of titans that kept flowing through into the land on the other side.

Shock. Disbelief. Horror. Sadness. I wasn't sure why I felt these things, but I was aware of something that confused me further. I had known this would happen; deep down, this wall I hadn't been aware of until recently, I knew it would be breached. And I also knew that this was something that should never have happened. I lamented humanity's loss.

'_Which is pretty ironic, considering that to humans, there's absolutely no difference between me and the next man-eating monster.'_

There was no point in wallowing though; I had already been left behind by the grotesque pack that had swarmed around me. Seeing no point to dally further, I too headed towards the wall.

* * *

'_The breach is days, possibly even a week or two old, at most. No survivors.'_

I sighed deeply, hissing out a puff of vapour between clenched teeth. With my 'Titan-Sense,' I could easily tell that there were no humans left alive here. The bloodstains I had found were all dried and brown, showing age. I was too late to save anyone.

'_Well, it couldn't be helped, but that doesn't mean I have to like how it turned out.'_ I sighed again and rested my head back against Wall Maria, looking out on the Shiganshina district. That was one advantage of getting myself in the practice of reading and writing again; I was able to find out names of things.

I had spent many hours of the day gathering up the partial corpses that littered the area, gently laying them out on the ground in lines away from where I sat. I'd made sure to position them so as to be as far out of the sun as possible; waiting for it to cool down before continuing the grisly task.

'_They stink like the dead… That's terrible; I should never make a joke like that again.' _I snorted, lips tilting up in amusement, before returning to a more somber demeanour.

'_Well, someone has to do this for them. They deserve honor and respect; that much, at least, I can give them. It helps that I have such big hands, the collecting didn't take that long.'_

I rose and returned to the lines. Their numbers were definitely in the hundreds, possibly thousands; those people that lay stretched out before me. However, this was not yet my destination; I made my way to a large field not far from them. Choosing a spot as good as any, I began to dig.

'_If there was ever a time I would be thankful for my claws, this is definitely it.'_ It was difficult work, digging a deep enough hole for all of the dead to fit in; there was a lot of them, after all. Finally satisfied with its depth, I started another, slightly smaller, hole next to it.

I wasn't sure how long I was digging, but there was no longer any amount of warmth to speak of in the air by now. There had also been no other sightings of titans since I started, the only ones I had seen were the ones entering the wall from a distance, and those that had walked near me. They had passed straight through the district and through the hole in Wall Maria's gate.

It didn't take very long to fill the large pit; I was simply loading my hands with those I had already found and carrying them over. I tried my best to be gentle with the bodies; it's very difficult when you're a good 14 meters tall with bodily proportions to match.

I felt an uncharacteristic sadness whenever I picked up the body of a child. They were even smaller and more fragile than the grown humans; fortunately, there weren't as many among their number as compared to the adults.

I gently set the last handful down and stood quietly at the edge of the mass grave, eyes closed and head lowered for a short length of time, before pulling the dirt over those within. I felt instinctively that such an action was respectful, no doubt gleaned from another life; I ruminated on this as I carefully packed the dirt down.

Standing slowly, I made my way back to what was left of the grotesque lines. I had realized, as I had been gathering the dead, that there were both soldiers and civilians in their number. It had been a long time since I had truly lived, let alone been human, but I felt that it was proper to bury the soldiers separately.

I noticed that they were wearing a strange sort of device and had an unusual harness wrapped around their whole body. As I inspected the contraptions closer, I discovered many to be damaged beyond repair, but amongst them were those that were in relatively good condition, all things considered. They usually belonged to those soldiers that had been beheaded with a bite, or killed through a second-hand reaction in response to a titan.

Almost every fabric part of the harnesses was damaged in one place or another, but it was much easier to find the metallic and more intricate parts in working order. I decided that the rope harness would be easier to replace than the gear, and proceeded to carefully slice through some of the harness lines in order to remove them from the bodies. I attempted removing the irreparable sets first, testing to find the least number of ropes to slice through in order for the apparatus to come away from the body.

I set aside those in better condition, and continued to remove all of the bad ones; these soldiers had died in duty, they had every right to rest in peace, this gear could only serve as a poor reminder of their past as their spirits went to rest.

I could tell that the sun was setting; the sky was darkening, and the air now felt cool, even slightly cold, to the touch. I quickly buried the soldiers and stood in silence for them also, standing longer as I apologised for my kind. At a loss of what to do with the dud gear, I stacked it in an orderly manner on their grave.

**"Sleep…well."** My voice rasped harshly, but for these dead, this was the last word of comfort they would ever hear.

My joints were beginning to stiffen slightly; it was time to settle down for the evening. I picked up the good gear and a few large slabs, made of a material I didn't recognise, that I had retrieved earlier from the town. I bent down and crawled through to the inner side of Wall Maria myself, sighing when I felt some fading rays of light touch my skin on the other side.

'_The district blotted out more light than I thought.'_

I made myself comfortable on the ground, humming as the sun continued to sink below the horizon, using the last of the light to see as I scratched at the slabs with my claws.

* * *

The next morning, I forced myself into alertness as soon as was physically possible; I had a long way to travel, wherever I chose to head. Titans didn't really 'sleep' as such; well, I couldn't exactly speak for the others, but for me, I went into a kind of meditative state where I was unable to move my body much more than an inch, left alone with my thoughts until sunrise. Floating in limbo, if you will.

'_With such a glaring weakness, I guess it's no surprise I'm worried about venturing further inland. These humans aren't entirely helpless; only an idiot would think such a thing.'_

I had seen plenty of unusual smears and residues on the ground, usually near corpses of soldiers; it was easy to put two and two together. The residue even smelt like titan. Simply said, humans were aware of our weakness, and had created a weapon very capable of slicing into us and removing that vital part. I had discovered that unusual broken metal strips lying around on the ground were, in fact, the remains of fairly lethal blades.

_'When in the right hands, of course.'_

I quickly ducked back into Shiganshina, returning once more to the burial pits. I studied the two slabs I held briefly, before stabbing them into the ground in front of the upturned earth, one before each grave. Satisfied, I left the district for what was, hopefully, the last time.

Outside, in the sunlight, I inhaled deeply, breathing the refreshing air into my lungs. Although I arguably didn't _need_ to breathe, that doesn't mean I don't like to. It was more of an unconscious function really, a pleasant memento left from my time as a human.

It hissed back out between my teeth in a fashion similar to a train releasing steam. I lifted my head to the northeast, sniffing the air lightly.

I had no idea what the hell I was doing. If I had any semblance of survival instincts, I should be leaving this place, right? And yet…

I don't know what it was, but seeing all those stilled, unmoving bodies struck something inside of me. Humans are supposed to have a lively spark in their eyes, to be innocent and tainted, deceitful yet loving, to feel and show the full emotional spectrum. That was how I remembered them. And yet, seeing those previously lively faces stilled forever in expressions of horror, fear, and hopelessness…

'_Ah, apparently I'm still an idiot. What could I, as a titan, do to possibly help this situation? It's a lost cause.'_

And yet… I still put one foot in front of the other, following my previous course. After all, it's not like I have anything better to do. I just better live to regret this...

* * *

A/N: This is my first fanfic; I apologise if the chapter length is too long for some, you just have to get used to it. I just really needed to get my titan OC's basic background and point of view out of the way first up. This fic will alternate between points of view, and will be introducing OCs soon, and canon characters later on.

- Maa: A Japanese expression relatively equivalent to saying 'Well/Well then' at the beginning of a sentence

In case anybody is confused:

_- 'This'_ is a character's direct thoughts

- "This" is normal speech

- **"This"** is titan speech (she, the titan OC is female, speaks once in this chapter)

- A line break indicates a small time jump or a change of pace.

_- ~Break~_ will only be placed where there is a significant time skip or major change of pace

Enjoy! Please fav or alert this if you like it, and please post a review! I work faster with feedback; and I would really like to know what people think of this so far~


	2. To Hell In a Handbasket

**Disclaimer: **I don't own SnK. I do own my original ideas in this story.

**Warning of suicide at the end of chapter.**

_Alert: There may be spoilers in story and/or author's notes from this point on. This warning won't appear again._

* * *

_**~ To Hell In a Handbasket ~**_

* * *

If one were to come across the orderly town by chance on any ordinary day, it would seem peaceful enough to the casual observer. Just like any town, people rushed to and fro through the streets, going about their daily lives in a hurried bustle, tunnel vision focused solely on the tasks that lay ahead. Lulled into a form of contented resignation at the routine of repeating the same old tasks over and again, convinced of the security of the future ahead.

This, in spite the walls that hemmed the settlement on all sides. Of course, those that dwelled within had heard the horror stories of the titans, but despite being separated from them by only a few metres of wall width, most had never seen such monsters for themselves.

On an ordinary day, one would be able to see and hear the lively hub of the marketplace, with vendors haggling loudly with customers, and children's squeals carrying through the air. The low hum of conversation echoing through the streets full of people. The raucous laughter of the Stationery guards on gate duty, losing sobriety far too early in the day.

However, today was most definitely not an ordinary day. In fact, there hadn't been a real ordinary day for weeks now. Many doubted that there would be an ordinary day ever again.

Well, it was more or less impossible for humans to remain unfazed upon discovering that their impenetrable stronghold had, ironically enough, been breached, and by titans, nonetheless.

Tension now ran thick enough in the air that you could almost cut it with a knife. Anxious whispers, sobbing, and wailing were frequent sounds throughout the town; and people staggered, lost, through the streets with hollowed out expressions, quickly losing faith, and sanity, as time passed with no sign of rescue.

It hadn't started out at this level of severity though. Like all things, the response to the invasion had progressed in stages.

* * *

_A little over a fortnight ago..._

* * *

On that day, people had been wandering through the street, wrapped up to protect against the chill in the air. Children were scolded by mothers for not 'rugging up' warmly, as fathers laughed merrily by the fireplace. There hadn't been a single warning of the chaos to come.

The first hint that something was wrong was the thundering of many hooves in the distance. Members of the Stationery guard atop the Wall, thinking strangely of such a sight, paused in their work to watch the large group of horsemen quickly approach the district from within Wall Maria. They were riding their mounts hard, occasionally throwing glances over their shoulders. With the way they acted, one would think the devil himself was on their heels.

Without slowing a fraction, a pair peeled away from the group and tore through the open gate, heading directly towards the headquarters of the stationary guard. People followed in their wake, confused; it wasn't an odd occurrence for the guard corps of other districts to show up from time to time, but there were some rather stated differences this time. First of which being the fact that only a few of the large group entered into the district, while the rest kept racing passed. And they never usually had such an intense aura of alertness and fear about them.

Less than ten minutes had lapsed before the messengers reappeared in the streets, followed by the major of the town. Large crowds of people had amassed during that time and were waiting anxiously for what news would be brought to them. Now that the bystanders had a chance to actually observe the faces of the visitors, they could see grim lines etched around their mouths and foreheads, and their eyes were shadowed with despondence.

The mayor, now joined by the superiors of their own district's Stationary guard, stepped forward to address the crowd. He, too, bore the same expression.

"Everyone! There is grave news I must impart to you! The titans have breached Shiganshina District and Wall Maria!" His voice broke from the force of his words, but he was quick to continue.

"Do not panic! Whatever you do! But quickly gather your family and flee to the Karanese District; don't waste time gathering material possessions! Make haste!" His demeanor branded him a hypocrite; waves of fear rolled off him and he visibly shook where he stood.

The crowds stared at him in a stunned state.

"What?"

"He's kidding, right?"

"That's…not possible."

The listeners murmured amongst themselves in disbelief, until one of the messengers, lowering the water skin from which he had been urgently drinking for at least a minute straight, levelled a hard stare at the mob and sneered at them.

"Well, it's your call. Most of the titans are headin' this way, and they're comin' fast; if you don't leave now, you may never be able to." With that, he and his companion spurred their mounts to move out, breaking through the crowd of people, and following in the wake of their comrades.

For a length of time, everyone stared at the place where the messengers had been, completely shell-shocked. And then, all at once, as if following an invisible and inaudible cue, mass panic broke out. People screamed as they forced their way through the crowd to get to their homes or to leave the district. Any that weren't strong enough, fast enough, or lucky enough, were severely injured or even killed in the following stampede.

* * *

Thousands of people quickly began pouring out into the span of land between Wall Maria and Wall Rose. Some had horse-drawn carts, or unyoked horses, and were able to quickly pull ahead of the mob, but most were on foot, running with desperation. Those with a clearer head waited for the boats to be loaded. As it was, they were already way over capacity.

The boats began to set out, and when surveying those still being loaded, considering that more than two-thirds of the town had yet to evacuate, there was clearly no way they would be able to transport everyone. Those who were fitter and stronger easily fought their way into various modes of transport; while those who were young, old, ill, weak, or with families, were highly disadvantaged. Despite this, they made their best efforts to leave the district.

The group hadn't even left sight of the district when the first titans appeared on the horizon. They were running. Limbs flailing and head lolling, they tore at an ungodly speed towards those stranded in the open. Those still within the district, which accounted for now less than two-thirds of the town, looked on in horror as the titans easily caught up to the majority of those who had set out, snatching them up easily and tearing them limb from limb.

They just kept coming, pouring across the land like an infestation of mutant vermin. Everyone on foot became easy prey to their gaping maws; the larger among their number even tried to grab some of the boats out of the river. They unfortunately succeeded in some cases. Only those people travelling on horseback were able to escape.

Those left behind at the gate could only watch, frozen, mouths agape in abject horror. Somewhere above, a shout jostled some back to awareness. The stationary guards swarmed, racing about the gate; the titans were now heading directly for them.

"Stand clear! Dropping the gate in 5…4…"

Titans were stumbling closer, smiling in that horribly macabre way of theirs. Bloodstained lips and teeth were visible from here.

"3…2…"

The voice calling from the wall was tainted in urgency. Enlarged arms were reaching out now, trying to risk snatching a cookie from the jar before the lid was replaced.

"1! Now!"

The heavyweight gate slammed down into its cradle with a resonating boom, kicking up dust around the legs of those still locked in place, watching images their mind kept replaying over and again before their eyes.

Someone moved among the crowd, tilting their head upwards jerkily to look at the guards hanging from the wall above them via grapples and lines from their 3D manoeuvre gear. The shaky voice broke the silence of those within the safety of the gate, just loud enough to be audible over the screaming outside the wall.

"S-so…what…what are we going to do… now?"

Others also turned their faces upwards to the soldiers; they were the experts when it came to titan matters. One of them, a middle aged man with horror etched into his face, turned to meet their eyes.

"… How they hell are we supposed to know?"

* * *

It turned out that the mayor had been among the first to flee the district, and many influential businessmen and superior officers among the stationary guard had run too. The citizens scoffed in derision at the news, so much for their steadfast authority figures. However, despite the losses, everyone recovered at a surprisingly fast rate.

'It's gonna be alright,' and 'We can do this,' and 'Help will definitely come from the inner walls;' such things were repeated with religious fervour in public addresses, on the street, and in the home. People stepped into authority roles, comforting the public; humans united in an attempt to last out the wait.

It only took a week. The first incident happened in the middle of a surprisingly hushed marketplace. A fight had erupted as a result of a man attempting to steal something from a vendor. In the midst of the heated argument following, the thief had cried out in a loud, ringing voice that, disturbingly, harboured a strain of insanity not far below the surface.

"What does it matter if I steal this bread? What does it matter if I kill someone? If we all kill each other? No one is coming to save us anyway!"

If it was quiet before, you could have heard a pin drop now. Men set their mouths stoically, and mothers quickly herded their children home. Not a word was spoken of the incident; but no one forgot. After this, crime rates began to rise as people started breaking down and losing all hope. But the final blow came one day during an address...

* * *

He had stood there before them, the second one to lead them since the breach; the first had stepped down, being under too much pressure. He stood there calmly, eyes roving over the crowds. People relaxed at this; if their leader was calm, things were fine, right? No, not right at all.

He stepped forwards and, with a small smile, began to speak. "Friends, I am aware that some of you are still naively holding onto the hope of rescue. However, that is not to happen. We have been condemned to die, here, at the hands of the titans." With that, he raised the arm he had been covering within his cloak, bringing the previously concealed gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

That had been the final blow. Panic had again set in; people began plundering, raping and killing more outright, and many were also committing suicide themselves. The district became a living hell on earth. Most of the stationary guard passed the time drinking themselves stupid on top of the wall, staring down at the titans trying to claw their way in.

The intensity of the mass panic eventually ran its course, leaving behind hollowed shells of creatures once known as humans; there was now about a half of the population left alive. Most of those left were 'useless', the old, weak, and young, many of the capable humans had already killed each other off earlier.

They now lived every day in a daze of dread, waiting for the titans to get in. Or for the food to run out. It would be a close call as to which happened first.

* * *

**A/N:** Back again already! In this story, I made a few assumptions based on the SnK manga. The following is a list:

_-The fall of the wall happened in autumn. In the majority of chapter one, you see almost all characters within the district wearing lightweight long clothes, presumably to keep the cool wind away. Also, pages 19-21 show Eren and Mikasa collecting firewood (not necessarily only for cold weather, but still), and the tree that Eren was sitting under has a lot of leaves swirling around in the wind. There are no flowers in the grass, either. So my best educated guess is that is autumn, and my story says its mid-way._

_-I assumed that the titans flowed through both breaches at a high speed and began to flow up the East side of Wall Rose. This story is set in the District on the extreme east of Wall Maria, east of Karanese. I am assuming that the district was left untouched by the titans, but they arrived too quickly for the civilians to evacuate to safety._

_-All districts off Wall Maria are left nameless except Shiganshina; I will be attempting to avoid naming this one._

_-The scouting legion. I don't know where the heck they were during all of this; I'm assuming that they didn't have time to clean up, they just evacuated with everyone else. Actually, they probably evacuated the inhabitants of Wall Maria, like they did to Wall Rose with the supposed second 'breach'. All I know for certain is that they had not long returned from an expedition at that time._

If anyone can give concrete info that contradicts this list, I will change things. This story will possibly deviate from the canon universe slightly in future chapters, depending on whether or not new developments can be worked into the existing storyline.

Hope you enjoy~ Reviews will help me gauge how well this story is being accepted :)


	3. Lottery of Certain Death

Mentions of death and people-eating. The usual SnK things, though much less graphic. Very mild language. First real interactions with people/OCs other than the female titan.

**Disclaimer:** SnK is not mine.

* * *

**~ Lottery of Certain Death ~**

* * *

Sniffling. That was the only sound among those gathered at the gate. A few turned to find the source, concerned, but most didn't even register the small noise. Towards the back of the group stood two children, quite obviously siblings, a boy and girl; the latter was crying quietly.

Her brother turned towards her, sighing under his breath. "Come on Lena, stop crying. You'll just give yourself a headache."

The girl turned to him, wiping her nose on her long sleeve, "B-but Jonas…"

"Come on, snap out of it. There's no reason for the waterworks; grow up already." Jonas rubbed his nose in irritation, growling the words between clenched teeth

"But Jonas… We're being sent to die!" Her voice finished on a shrill note, causing many of the adults in the group to flinch, both at the tone and the words themselves. It was the truth; there was no point pretending it was something it wasn't.

It had been a majority vote, to try and send groups to reach Wall Rose and request help. They were going to starve before winter was out anyway, might as well try to make some use of themselves before they wasted away. It was a raffle; everyone's name went in, regardless of age; forty were drawn out. The only exceptions were those under four years of age and those in the stationary guard. No one raised the impossibility of covering over a hundred kilometres on foot through titan territory.

Lena's name had been chosen. Jonas had volunteered to go also. There was no way he could stand back and watch his little sister get eaten, not after seeing both of their parents die before their eyes. Not that he would tell Lena that.

"Che, there's no guarantee of that. Stop being so pessimistic, dumbass."

"But it's true; both of the other groups died." She sniffed again, making a noticeable effort to calm down.

"Yeah, so what? You know what they say, 'third time's the charm'. Besides, the second group made much better ground than the first before they were eaten."

"That doesn't help, Jo-chan."

Jonas whipped around and gave her head a solid thwack with his fist. "I thought I told you not to call me that! It's so sissy!"

"But it suits you… Jo-chan." Lena was giggling now, and Jonas simply grumbled to himself as he turned away.

Truthfully, he was terrified. He knew, with certainty, that they were going to be eaten, but for Lena's sake, he would put on an act. He was the older one, by four years, no less; it was his job to look out for his sister.

'_Damn, I was looking forward to turning twelve… I guess there's no chance of becoming a soldier now, huh?'_ He sighed forlornly, tuning back into the sounds of the stationary guards preparing the gate for opening. They would be raising it just enough for the group of humans to slip beneath.

The countdown came, and before Jonas knew it, he was holding Lena's hand tightly and racing through the gap and out into the pre-dawn air. The first group had departed during the day; they hadn't made it more than a few hundred metres. Remembering that titans couldn't move at night, the next group left at dusk; they had been devoured by titans who could stay active for many hours into the night. Despite that, it must be said that they had made pretty good headway up until then.

They could have gone at night, but it would take precious resources to take enough light with them. Why waste such valuable assets on sacrificial lambs? Only an idiot would.

As they ran, Jonas marvelled at the behemoths draped over the ground around them, unable to keep from feeling a kind of morbid curiosity. Lena was fast for an eight year old, so they weren't left behind, but others weren't so lucky. A woman holding a baby was struggling along behind them. There must have been no one for her to leave it with.

He knew that a lot of the residents would be gathered on top of the wall, watching their progress. Equally hoping in vain for them to make it, and praying that their deaths would be swift, if they cared enough.

He wasn't sure how far they'd run by the time the first person screamed; he hadn't dared to waste time looking behind him. They had run straight into a pack of titans; fortunately, most of them were still sluggish. Unfortunately, some were not.

'_We must have lost at least ten people_,' he thought, giving Lena's trembling hand a firm squeeze. A quarter of them were gone already.

The group continued to shrink, and the two found themselves in the company of a teenage girl and the young mother. It was surprising that she hadn't been eaten yet; all of those who were left had to prove themselves nimble on their feet.

His head jerked in surprise when she actually spoke to them. Well, not them, but the girl they ran with.

"Please," she rasped, "I can't run anymore."

'_Ah, so she was struggling.'_

"Please take my son. You are young and strong; you have a higher chance than me of reaching Karanese. I beg of you!"

'…_Is she serious? How can she expect someone to actually accept such a suicidal move?'_ Jonas turned his head to see what the girl had to say.

Her light-colored eyes were wide, conflicted. She reached a slightly trembling hand up to brush her short auburn bangs away from her mouth, where they kept clinging to her sticky lips. She looked shaken. When she finally spoke, her words fell in rhythm with her long strides and harsh puffs of air.

"Fine. What is – his name?"

"Arua. Thank you." There was nothing else to say; her eyes spoke of the soul deep gratitude she felt.

They slowed for a fraction of a second to exchange the baby; and the instant he left her hands, the child's mother slowed dramatically, lagging behind dangerously. They knew what would become of her before long.

"Arua, huh? What a – strange – name. Looks like – your Ma's – had it." She spoke briefly to the child she held before returning her mind to the task at hand.

* * *

Jonas' heart was trying to leap out of his chest, his whole body was trembling all over, and his lungs ached like they were on fire. Lena was also wheezing beside him; even the girl was panting, sweat trickling down her limbs. How long had they been running now? It must have been hours. Finally, they couldn't run anymore.

Coming to a stop, the siblings trembled where they stood, bent double as they gasped for air, watching as the titans ambled ever closer. The girl paused in her stride also, sliding to a stop; aside from themselves there were only two others left, running on ahead. She looked longingly, sadly, in the direction of Karanese, before setting her mouth determinedly and walking back to the two children.

"…Can you keep going?" Jonas shook his head in answer to her question.

"I see." There was nothing else to say.

She scanned around, freezing when she saw another titan heading towards them from the south. This one was huge; most of the titans so far had been ten metre-class or less. This one was one of the few fifteen-metre-classes they had seen.

It was heading roughly in their direction, gaze sweeping over the surrounding landscape. It had matted dark hair that hung below the shoulders, and appeared to be missing skin in several places. Two knots of muscle on the chest and the general body structure prompted the girl to label the titan as female. Unlike many of the titans thus far, it had a relatively lean body, not disgustingly obese or emaciated.

Looking to the north, she saw that the rabble of titans was still approaching them. _'Between the two groups, I think I'd prefer to get eaten by the big one.'_

Jonas yelped in surprise when he felt a vise-like grip yank him forward, and looked up to see it was the girl. He could feel Lena stumbling with him.

'_Good, she's still hanging in there…'_

"What…" He couldn't articulate the question he desperately wanted to ask; what were they doing? He suddenly saw the huge titan they were heading towards and gave another yelp, jumping back involuntarily. She gripped him tighter, if that was possible.

"If we're going to be eaten, I'd rather it was by this one," she hissed by way of explanation. Arua let out a small wail in her arms, as if understanding the horribly morbid conversation that was taking place. Jonas had to concede that one titan was better than many.

However, at the current going rate, the swarm was going to reach them before they reached the big titan. He couldn't quite manage to suppress a shiver that ran through his bones.

* * *

Lena had been quiet the whole time, repeating to herself the things Jo-chan had told her before they had left, convincing herself that they would be all right. Forcing herself not to think about the huge distance between Wall Maria and Wall Rose. Jo-chan would help protect her.

This girl that had run with them, she was fast and strong; she could probably still keep going. But she had stopped with them. Now, hearing her say that she was choosing which titan she wanted to be eaten by, Lena could no longer stop herself from panicking. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she bit her lip, before crying out.

"Ma! Pa!" her wail split the air, screaming for the safety of her deceased parents' arms.

* * *

Jonas whipped his head around at his sister's cry, unintentionally catching a glimpse of just how close the swarm was now. The gap had to be less than fifty metres.

Unnoticed by the humans, the female titan jerked to a halt, bright eyes zeroing in on their plight.

Closer, closer. The titans were coming. Jonas gave up running and clutched Lena tight to his chest, letting her sob with abandon. The girl also gave it up for lost and soothed them, gently wrapping her arms around the two, mindful of the baby.

The closest titan now stood over them and was reaching down to grab them; they could smell its rancid breath and the girl flinched away from the sharpness of claw-like nails. Then, as suddenly as it came, it was gone.

The three stared blankly as the titan flew through the air, landing with a crash on the ground hundreds of metres away. They looked at each other, pale faced, before daring to look up. The female titan now stood over them; but surely it had been at least one or two hundred metres away a few moments ago? They stared in open-mouthed confusion.

Lowering itself slightly above them, defensively, it threw back its head and roared. The sound was deafening and the little group hurriedly blocked their ears. They did not, however, close their eyes; not when they were expecting to be eaten at any moment. Though, what happened next… To say they were startled would be a massive understatement.

After roaring a challenge to the incoming titans, the female titan proceeded to rip them to pieces and just generally beat the _ever-loving shit_ out of them. This titan had no hesitancy about killing its own kind by the droves, going for the nape every time. The group watched in rapt fascination, only to be broken out of their individual musings when the titan eventually turned its gaze on them.

Dark eyes smouldered from behind the matted curtain of hair, staring at them intently. They couldn't even twitch away as it bent down to their level, reaching for them. The hand was surprisingly gentle in its grasp, clutching them between a few loose fingers, and quickly transferring them to the empty palm of the other hand. They righted themselves from their tumble, quickly seeking out the titan's face, watching for any indication of its intent.

They followed its gaze, looking in the direction the last two members of the initial team had taken. From this height, it was possible to see another group of smaller titans, previously concealed from view behind a low ridge, tearing into them. The large titan that held them snorted, and proceeded to scan the area around itself. Spotting the gate they had originally come from, the titan righted its body and started to lope towards it.

* * *

The girl looked down at the children pressed against her chest, the little girl crying unashamedly, while the older boy, presumably her brother, kept a straight face, although his eyes gave away the overload of emotion he was experiencing. The baby had stopped screaming, and was now crying quietly to himself. She felt like breaking down into tears, also. Tears of relief and fear. Had they been saved from the horde of titans, only to be eaten by their 'saviour'?

She raised a weary head to look at the one carrying them, uncertain of whether to feel fear and revulsion, or gratitude and curiosity. Could this be one of those deviants she had heard about? It did seem, dare she say it, completely uninterested in eating them.

Lost in her thoughts as she was, she didn't notice her gaze being returned by the female titan until a minute had passed, at least. While the body lacked skin in various places, its face appeared more human than most titans. It was probably the unusual light of sentience in its eyes that gave that impression.

Quickly breaking eye contact, she clutched the children tighter and continued to stroke their hair soothingly, although the boy now seemed more in control of himself. He was no longer spaced out, but his nerves were clearly still quite wound. She sighed in resignation, running a head through her sweat-soaked hair for the umpteenth time, before breaking the silence.

"I'm Hanna, what's your name?" The boy jumped slightly at her voice, despite the effort she made to speak as calmly as possible. He eyed her distrustfully for a full minute, before finally answering her question.

"Jonas." He must have seen the next question in her eyes because he continued, "That's my sister, Lena."

Hanna blinked in surprise, "You were both chosen to come? That's real bad luck."

"No, I volunteered." She clucked her tongue in sympathy once as silence again fell over them. More time passed until someone spoke again; surprisingly, it was Lena this time.

"I-is someone…humming?" Her voice trembled a little, but the child was making a brave attempt at hardening up, despite the circumstances. More than most adults could say for themselves.

The three sat with backs straight and heads cocked, in an attempt to catch wind of the sound Lena spoke of. Sure enough, a quiet, yet deep, rhythmic hum was hanging in the air around them. They looked at each other once in confirmation that none of them were making that noise, before turning as one to look at the only other being that could possibly be the source.

Sure enough, the titan seemed to be…humming to itself. Was that normal? Probably not, but then again, this titan had yet to cease surprising them.

"…It sounds like a song of some sort." Hanna concluded after a period of intense listening.

"Tch, as long as it's not some messed up death dirge, I really don't care what the hell it is," Jonas scoffed. More of his gruffness had been returning as he had regained control of his emotions.

Suddenly, the hand they were seated on began to shake slightly, only the smallest amount, but enough for the resident humans to take note. They glanced up in alarm, only to find the titan already lifting its glowing eyes from them to the wall that now towered above it. They looked on in surprise at the way the only visible corner of the giant gaping mouth, covered by semi-torn skin over the cheeks, turned upwards into a semblance of a smile. The humming had broken off, only to be replaced by a rolling rumble, which sounded an awful lot like…

"Is it…_laughing_?!" The three continued to stare for a long moment, not even processing the fact that they had finally reached the wall. They shifted their gaze to the gate and back; there had been way too many earth-shaking revelations to take in for one day. Why would a titan rescue them and return them to their home?

"Oh, whatever, I give up already. Thinking about this is hurting my head too much." Jonas groaned, flopping back on the giant palm, throwing his arm over his eyes in order to shield them from the sunlight that peeked through the titan's fingers.

It was right about the time that the titan bent down and started to examine the gate that they became aware of the panicked yells sounding from with the walls.

* * *

A/N: Name pronunciations: Lena ~ Leh-na, Jonas ~ Jou-nahs, Arua ~ Ah-ruu-ah. Hanna should be self-explanatory.

Next chapter will see another POV shift to an outsider perspective, at least for parts.

Please drop a word if you are enjoying, I'm a little worried about making an OC story for my first fic; I _think_ it's good so far, but the author's opinion doesn't count for much ;P


	4. Titanic Guardian

This story may come across a little 'dark' for some people in places (only earlier chapters, it's gonna be more cutesy later); it really isn't, I'm just really trying to get into what's happening to these people and how it's affecting their words and actions. It is just quite realistic, really.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SnK

* * *

**~Titanic Guardian ~**

* * *

Viktor Herrman came across as just your everyday, run-of-the-mill soldier of the stationary guard. He possessed slightly above average abilities, and his constitution was the standard build for one trained in the use of 3D manoeuvre gear. He had an open, pleasant face, sporting a smatter of freckles across his nose, and a typical brown-haired, brown-eyed genetic make up. The look in his eyes was the only real hint at what lay beneath the exterior.

What set him aside was not an inborn asset, but rather, a personality of his own making. Forged from the remains of a difficult childhood by a young man struggling to find the balance in a twisted world. Many years had passed since then, and his worldview had changed as many times also, if not more.

He was far from old, in any meaning of the word, but he had lived long enough by now to realise that there was no one true way to look at the world. What was understood to him in one way from one mindset, when looked at from a fresh perspective, made him question his original judgment.

While this way of thinking made sense to him, those around him could not understand such thoughts. However, this did not prevent them from liking him. In fact, it greatly increased other people's opinions of him in their eyes. He was the sort of man who could calmly shake hands with a criminal and not be influenced by the views of others in the least as he formulated his own impression of them.

He was the sort of man who could make the best call in the heat of the moment, when things came to do or die – literally.

Despite his ability, he staunchly shied away from promotions and positions of authority, regardless of the unanimous support he received from his comrades. He had seen the corruptive properties of power first-hand; he much preferred to stay as he was, a hidden pillar for mankind.

His promotion had come unexpectedly, when Commander Pixis had paid a visit to their district. It hadn't been anything to speak of, really; his fellow soldiers had been ribbing him about his aversion to taking up a position of authority, in Pixis' earshot, no less. The older man had appeared thoughtful at this and questioned him as to why.

Looking him straight in the eye, Viktor had answered without a moment's hesitation, _"With all due respect, sir, someone with thoughts like mine should not be placed in such a role. I don't doubt my ability to lead, but rather my ability to be accountable for my thoughts and actions to those other than myself. I would doubtless become a martyr for the people."_

Pixis had stared at him for a long time, studying his face carefully, seemingly searching for something. Finally, the gaze softened slightly, becoming inwardly contemplative.

"I see." With that, he turned and left.

A few days later, Herrman had been informed of his promotion to squad captain, as per the orders of Commander Dot Pixis.

* * *

Corporal Herrman let out an involuntarily groan as he begun to stretch his out his cramping muscles. He had been bent over this desk writing for hours now; for a man who preferred physical labour, such a task was equivalent to having teeth removed. Involuntarily - through use of force.

He and few other squad leaders were all that had remained of the upper echelons of the chain of command within the district when the titans had breached the Wall. The other squad leaders, however, had been just as much wrecks as the civilians and rank-and-file soldiers were. Lacking a firm hand of higher authority, the stationary guard unit had quickly begun to fall apart from the inside out.

While he had once more baulked at the hurdle before him, the fact that there was simply no other person capable of stepping up to the plate soon forced his hand. With the approval of the remaining squad leaders, and the vice-captains also, Herrman had promoted himself to the position of corporal.

Thankfully, the guard had pulled itself back into shape relatively well, all things considered, but it wasn't without its toll. The task was simply too big for one man, let alone one newly promoted to his post, so he was forced to delegate important managerial roles to the other squad leaders in order to lessen his own burden.

'_I'm still being crushed by the workload though; if that new mayor actually bothered to pay attention to his tasks, I wouldn't have to deal with all this extra crap. I'm a soldier, not a politician, for titans' sake. And yet, I'm the one practically running this town…'_

He sighed in frustration before pulling the inches-thick census of names towards himself with a frown. For a full day now, he had been working through the residents listed here, noting the names of those confirmed to be dead or evacuated, and those of children below age four, as well as those who were registered as active soldiers.

A general consensus had been reached not two days ago to try and send a team of people to Wall Rose, the team composed of forty people whose names were to be drawn at random.

Herrman's task was a thankless one; he was well aware that this was a foolish, if not downright stupid, waste of lives. But he was not the one calling the shots in this case; the people had brought this on their own heads.

Settling back into his seat, he continued to scrawl across the paper as the setting sun filled the room with warm light.

* * *

Sitting relaxedly atop the wall in the cool pre-dawn air, Herrman shivered slightly in spite of himself, causing him to draw his cloak in tighter. If one had been able to see his back through the shadows, they would find the insignia of the stationary guard branded there.

There was very little light, but the sky was paling at a frightening rate – that particular adjective being a little too apt in this situation for his tastes. His subordinates, consisting of the other squad leaders and vice captains, stood around him, looking out on the land with tension set in their bodies and faces. No doubt bracing themselves for what was to come. Again.

He sighed in resignation at their conduct; they were going to be here for a while, they should at least sit and make themselves comfortable. If they intended to suffer a little in sympathy for those about to be devoured, their actions would come across as a show of malicious vanity. How could their small discomfort compare, in any way, to a life?

Closing his eyes, he took a measured sip from the steaming flask held between cool hands, tuning out the chaotic chatter of the civilians surrounding them on the wall. He had permitted them access to the wall during these ventures; if they were going to be sending people to their deaths, they were going to witness the consequences of their choice to the gory end. Whether they liked it or not, they owed those they had killed at least that much.

The shout that echoed up faintly from below caught his attention, and he turned his gaze to look vertically down the wall to where a sudden explosion of people appeared far below. Apparently, he was the only one game enough to sit with legs draped over the wall in this manner.

It was impossible to make out individual characteristics aside from general body size from this distance without a visual aid, but that was for the best. He remembered the young siblings who were a part of this group. The young boy who had offered himself up to be with his little sister.

'_Such a shame, he was made of the right stuff to become a good soldier one day, must have been close to the admittance age too…'_

The boy had had a determined look in his eyes as he had stepped forward and volunteered himself, in the place of a six-year-old girl with a crying toddler clinging to her leg. Herrman had clearly seen the fear in his eyes, but the boy hadn't broken eye contact once, standing steadfastly by his decision.

"… How depressing." His chuckle sounded hollow, even to himself.

"Sir? Did you say something?" He waved his hand dismissively in response to the voice behind him. He wasn't in the mood for talking right now.

* * *

The sun hung in the air above the horizon, fully visible, showering its life-giving rays on all. Including the titans. It had been this way for the last couple of hours.

A telescope was now a permanent fixture to Herrman's eye, allowing him to make out the remains of the group from this distance. They had covered many kilometres, which was a surprising achievement in itself, but also marked the extent of their abilities.

Despite not wanting to recognize any among the team, it had been hard to miss the two pale blonde heads of hair bobbing along amidst the varying shades of brunette around them. That had been the biggest giveaway that the children were siblings, such pure hair colours were less than prominent. His eyes were involuntarily drawn to them every time the group met another clutch of titans.

That was something not going in their favour; the group had had the ill luck of running into titan after titan, as if the titans had anticipated their actions and had deliberately strung themselves out along the route and allowed the food to come to them.

It was impossible to tell if the kids were still alive from this distance; all he could see were a few small ant-like figures plowing onward. He could also see the slightly-larger-than-ant figures lying in wait ahead of them. And running towards them from the north. He was about to lower the telescope, convinced of their imminent demise, when a sudden burst of movement in his periphery caused him to focus on them again.

He had been aware of the fifteen-metre class approaching at a lax pace from the south for quite a while, but hadn't bothered to pay it much attention. Now though, it had positively exploded forwards, covering tens of metres in half a stride as it dashed towards the group. A titan running wasn't such a rare sight, but this one…it actually ran like a regular human, without all the unnerving lolling about.

His eyes widened and gasps came from those other officers with telescopes as the titan drew its leg back, and sent a smaller titan, leaning over what had to have been people, flying. It pivoted neatly on its grounded leg, following through on the visibly combat-style kick.

The roar that followed was audible, even from this distance. They could only stare in amazement as the small titan began to eviscerate those around it. Well, it most certainly wasn't small in reality, but it looked it from this distance.

Herrman wasn't sure what to make of this situation; he had never seen a titan go up against its own kind with such a vengeance before. He wanted to know what became of the humans, but it was impossible to tell from this distance. He sat in silence, mentally weighing up the titan as it approached the district. Even if it was a deviant, it posed no danger to those behind the safety of the wall.

It did eventually reach the gate; it was a big sucker, as he'd expected. It held itself strangely, one hand curled by its side and the other palm-up in front of its chest, with fingers gently curled over. He didn't miss the way it looked up, scanning the top of the wall first, before it crouched down at the gate.

Now he was curious. Titans came up to the gate all the time, but they just pushed up against it bodily, standing there for a while, before eventually wandering away. This titan, what was it doing? He pushed himself to his feet, leaning out dangerously over the edge; and, before anyone could do more than cry out in protest, he launched himself out into space.

He shot a line at the wall as he let himself free fall. Finally, as he was approaching the end of his wire, he shifted his centre of gravity, allowing the harness to take his weight, before releasing a short, hard burst of gas from his tank. The sharp jerk still succeeded in forcing a grunt from his lips, but would have been undoubtedly worse if he hadn't suddenly slowed his fall. He was well aware that people had been killed by the whiplash caused by their gear.

He was probably a little lower than he would have preferred, now hanging well below halfway down the wall. But the positive side was that he could now get a good look at whatever it was that this titan was up to.

It seemed to be investigating the gate; pushing against it to test its stability, and knocking on it with the knuckles of its free hand to check the thickness, before turning to examine the edges. It wasn't until it reached for the bottom of the gate that Herrman felt a cool chill sweep over him.

"That bastard, is it actually trying to _open_ the gate?" he muttered in disbelief. Regardless of how interesting it was, if the titan posed this high a level of threat, he would have it die right here. Yanking his handgrips to his sheaths, he quickly engaged a pair of blades, and proceeded to slowly remove them. Despite his best efforts at silence, the razor-sharp steel rasped as it slid from its holders.

The response was instantaneous. Although the titan had made no move to acknowledge his presence when he first rappelled down to it, it now slowly turned its head towards him, wariness clear in its eyes. The hand instantly withdrew from the gate, rising up, over the head, to rest against…the nape of its neck?!

"What the… It knows to protect its own weak point?" Preposterous; titans were known to lack any level of intelligence. But then again, since when had he agreed with majority opinion?

The two stayed that way, frozen, for many moments, waiting for the other to make a move. They both ignored the panicked yells from above them. The titan was the one to break the stand off.

Looking over its shoulder, it made an ambiguous sound in the back of its throat at the sight of more titans approaching from the distance. Turning back to the gate, it reached down once more and dug sharpened claws beneath the gate; bracing itself in preparation to lift the colossal slab of stone.

Filing away his surprise at the creature's quick understanding of the gate's mechanism for later, he drew his blades now and prepared to attack at a second's notice. Something told him that this titan was far from stupid; it knew he was a threat to it, so why did it continue its attempts?

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't cut your neck out right this second." He felt rather ridiculous, talking to something that probably wouldn't understand him. It was more of a formality, really.

The titan again stopped what it was doing, but this time it didn't let go of the gate. Instead, it reached its left arm, the one it held before its chest, out further across the front of its body, holding it higher so he could see, straightening out its fingers as it did so.

People. It had people in the palm of its hand. Children, in fact; alive ones. He instantly recognised the blonde siblings, and there was a teen holding a baby. They seemed pretty relaxed, if the boy's sprawled repose was anything to go by, considering a man-eating monster was currently toting them around.

"…Corporal Herrman?" The older girl's eyebrows shot into her hairline as she recognised him. The two other children sat up immediately.

"Really? Oh, wow, it really is him! Hi Corporal!" The little girl's face still sported drying tear tracks, but the pluck she was showing was commendable in one so young. He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the cry of a titan behind them.

'_Shit, they're coming up fast.'_

The titan hurriedly redoubled its efforts, but the gate was simply too hard to lift one-handed. Carefully, the hand was lowered so that it now rested flat on the ground, and it curled a finger up to poke at children gently, urging them off. It was rather strange to see anyone even slightly reluctant to leave a titan's immediate vicinity.

Now, both hands freed, the gate began to rise slowly, groaning as the gears were forcibly turned by an outside influence. Herrman wasn't sure why he didn't cut the titan down; perhaps it was gut instinct that prompted him not to.

The gate was only raised a few metres altogether, more than enough for people to run underneath. The titan fixed its eyes meaningfully on the children, humming in encouragement; the meaning was clear. With only slight hesitation, they gathered their wits and sprinted inside. Carefully, so as to not crush anyone, the titan lowered the gate back into position.

Herrman wasn't exactly sure what he had just witnessed; he was a very smart man, his brain was working at full capacity to try and decipher what was going on. It took another gruff noise from the source of his confusion to bring him back to the present.

'_I thought I was too low,'_ he thought vaguely as he spotted a pair of fifteen-metre classes heading his way, _'well, damn, this is not good.'_

The mystery titan stepped closer, examining him where he dangled before its face. Without warning, it again raised its hand, this time bringing it up under his feet. He stumbled to gain balance, surprised as the hand kept going up and up. Finally, when it hit the end of its reach, the titan began to prod him with a finger in the same manner done to the children.

Without hesitation, he shot back up the wall, away from those that would try to eat him. His men cried out in relief as he reappeared, thankful that he hadn't been eaten. He smiled in response, turning back to look for the deviant titan. It was already walking away, without so much as a backwards glance.

"As if I'll let you get off that easy," he murmured, grinning in anticipation. He wasn't sure what was different about this titan, but he was determined to find out.

* * *

A/N: I chose the name Herrman by googling German Last names, and considering it means soldier/warrior, I thought it was fairly appropriate. Viktor sounded good with it, and funnily enough, means victor - bodes well for the Corporal, I'd say. Herrman is very similar to Erwin (except less creepy, with less sacrificial tendencies), Pixis could see some of that at their meeting. I couldn't sum up Herrman's exact reasoning behind his power aversion, so he only gave part of the reason. Actually, just rereading that last sentence, maybe he is more like Erwin than I thought... They're made of similar stuff, you see.

I found it funny just how many actual characters' names (from SnK) were actually in really basic lists of German names.


	5. Definition of Curiosity

There shouldn't be any warning-worthy here. Oh! Also! Thank you to all you beautiful people who have faved and followed this! And super big thanks to Aileen Autarkeia and Saberguy for your wonderful reviews! You have no idea how much that motivated me!

Enjoy this new chapter~ Also, should I change the titan OC's chapters into third-person also? I find it good to get into her thoughts, but it may come across as quite disorientating, jumping back and forth between 1st and 3rd POV. If you think I should change it, tell me!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own SnK

* * *

**~ Curiosity: Closely Associated with Fatality ~**

* * *

'_Well, I have to admit, I wasn't intending to get directly caught up in the affairs of humans when I started out on this jaunt.'_

It had been almost a week now, since I had come across the little humans stranded in the middle of titan territory. The temperatures were continuing to drop by the day, speaking depths about the snow that would be soon to follow.

I was currently sheltering from a blustery wind by sitting up against the inside of Wall Maria, in the debris of a township; it wasn't really cold, for me at least, but the way it kept tossing my hair around was irritating to no end. I was also in the middle of a self-bashing for my idiocy.

'_Sure, maybe take out a titan, or ten, from a distance; but not get right up and personal with them.'_ I didn't regret saving the little ones from their fate, and to do that, it only made sense to return them to the relative safety of their little hidey-hole. What I was mostly kicking myself about was helping out that male soldier hanging from the wall.

'_What was I thinking? Ah, I probably wasn't; there's the problem.' _He possibly would've been able to get out of difficulty by himself. Maybe.

It wasn't that I was regretful for helping someone that could, and possibly would, kill me, although that was one of the more major drawbacks. The man was not normal, unnervingly so. He had been the only one to rappel down to us, eyes bright as he analysed my movements, completely ignoring his own safety in attempt to sate his curiosity. The fact that he had actually allowed me to lift the giant door, despite his rather obvious obligations, only further attested to his abnormality.

I had hoped that that was the last time I'd have to cross paths with the strange man; of course, I'd gotten my hopes up too soon.

* * *

It had been a few days after the first 'rescue'; I'd been sprawled out on the ground, quite a distance from the district, trying to soak up as many of the few wavering slivers of light peaking over the wall as possible. It could be said I was the epitome of someone 'minding their own business.'

I was completely unprepared for the wave of little people that parted around me not long later, racing across the ground as fast as their tiny legs could carry them. I heaved my head up from the ground, frowning. _'What the hell? Why are they out here again?'_

Whatever the reason, it was completely suicidal. It was a painfully long time until I was able to drag myself upright and stumble after them. Despite my body being heavy and uncoordinated from the night, it still wasn't that difficult to catch up to a pack of creatures that were about a fiftieth of my size. Or smaller.

It appeared some had managed to get themselves eaten already. I didn't know how that was possible when most titans still couldn't move yet. Without ceremony, I had loped passed them and stopped directly in their path, turning to face them. Some had begun to cry and collapse on the ground, expecting to be eaten, but others tried to get around me. I'd had to repeatedly stomp my foot down in the path of any who tried to continue onwards, until they finally ceased their attempts.

They'd stood there then, dumbly gazing up at me, expressions filled with resignation for what they expected to come. I growled in my throat, causing whimpers to sound, before making a pushing motion with my foot. They stumbled back to avoid being hit, unknowingly in the direction of their district. I continued with this sham of herding until they finally got the idea.

They had seemed only too happy to be returning to their home, which left me to wonder again about their presence here. Enough time had passed by then that other titans were up and about; on the flip side, I was no longer stumbling around like an inebriated drunk.

With a few short strides, I had gone from the rear of the group to the fore, causing a brief hesitation in my little herd. However, they seemed both relieved and slightly aghast, in equal amounts, when I easily took down the closest threat. They had then run after me with no further bidding.

It had amused me when they had followed my lead and stopped roughly a hundred metres away from the wall, looking up as it seeking further instructions. I'd waved my hands in a shooing motion towards the gate, encouraging them onwards. They looked nervous, but upon realising the absence of titans, had eagerly rushed forward.

I only ceased fighting off the approaching titans when the gate was lowered behind them. As I made one final cursory check of the wall, I had briefly caught the sparking eyes and ambiguous grin of the strange male soldier.

* * *

I let loose a laugh at the picture at the picture of a mother duck being followed by her ducklings that sprang to mind; I had indeed had the chance to witness such a tender scene once following my awakening. Unfortunately, I had also successfully reminded myself once more of the subject of my inner consternation.

'_That bastard, what is he thinking?'_ I was certain that the incident had been a test of some sort, only, I couldn't figure out why, or what for.

I began to hum as I thought, once more prompting my memory to return to the first four humans I'd saved. I had wondered about them ever since I'd lowered the gate behind them, sealing them from view. The gruff little boy, the brave little girl, the levelheaded older girl, the littlest one.

'_Its called a baby, right? …I hope its okay.' _It hadn't stopped making noise the entire time I'd seen it. I couldn't remember if that was a good thing or not.

It was because of the little yellow haired girl that I'd got mixed up in all of this in the first place. I'd been aware of the humans in the little pen as I'd approached, but had been trying to keep up appearances of normalcy. But when I'd heard that desperate scream; well, by the time my head caught up with the rest of my body, I had already dropkicked that sucker halfway to next year. In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess.

* * *

It was a quite a few hours after midday, my only way of keeping time, when the sound of a metallic snick carried to my ears. I pulled myself up from where I'd been laying, wary. The sound had come from the direction of the gate.

After violently butchering my image as an ordinary titan with my own hands, I had taken the liberty of openly investigating the gate and its mechanisms. Much to the delight of my resident stalker, I'm sure.

It was no wonder it was so hard to lift; if it was anything like the outside, the inner side of the gate probably also had a system of giant gears and pulleys to assist in operation. I had also discovered a small guardhouse built into the wall next to the gate.

'_If I'd known about that the first time, I wouldn't have tried to lift that damn block of stone,'_ I'd inwardly grouched. On reflection, the door was locked firmly; if I had broken it to let the humans through, smaller titans would have fit also. It was for the best I hadn't known of it earlier.

Now, the quiet sound had the nostalgic air of someone disengaging a lock. I readied myself, uncertain of what to expect; I was unable to see the door to the old guard station from where I sat, due to the remains of a small village disrupting my view. However, I was able to hear fine, thanks to the drop in the wind, and I was surprised to hear voices filter over.

"Oi, are you sure this is alright? We could be in serious trouble if anyone found out. They could even lock us out here as punishment!"

"Well, if you're that worried, you shouldn't have come."

"Like hell! I'm just as curious as you are!"

"… Did it ever occur to you that _certain _people might not feel the same overbearingly stupid levels of fearlessness that you do?"

"…I can't figure out if you're complimenting or insulting me."

The two voices ceased speaking for a time, before a third broke the silence.

"I-I'm not s-scared, or anything, but…can we hurry and go back inside soon?" This voice sounded younger than the previous two, and laced with fear. This was clearly the 'certain person' alluded to by the older female voice. The young male spoke up again.

"I agree, come on, let's get this shit over and done with."

"Nice potty mouth in front of an eight-year-old."

"She hears worse everyday anyway." Silence followed that statement; clearly there was no rebuttal to be offered.

"Sooo, what are we supposed to do? Yell out for it? Do you think it'll even understand us, let alone come?" The scorn was interlaced with doubt; although the conversation had progressed, the voices had not gotten any louder or quieter, which probably meant they weren't moving around.

"Maybe we should spread out and look-" "I'm not interested in offering myself up as a free titan snack, thank you very much."

"…It's really big, right? Maybe if we climb up on a big house, we'll see it?" The little girl once again. I had a sneaking suspicion I knew who the voices belonged to.

"The only intact house I can see around here ain't really big enough to see over the rubble of the rest, but it's worth a shot, I guess."

Silence again as the owners of the voices presumably disappeared into said house to climb to the roof. I began carefully making my way to where I had last heard them. It had been many decades since I had last heard any real human conversation; I felt entranced, drawn in by these mysterious creatures.

Being careful to stay below the roofline, I shuffled through the streets on my elbows and knees, stomach low to the ground. Upon reaching a larger building, I sat back against it gently, discretely glancing around the edge.

The three humans stood on the roof of a hovel barely larger than one-story in height. While more height would have been desirable, to climb one of the other buildings could result in it collapsing on them. Sure enough, as I suspected, it was the three little humans I had rescued the first time; the baby wasn't among their number.

They danced around strangely on their toes, craning their necks. Apparently it was tiring work, because the yellow-haired boy slumped down on the roof before long with a large sigh.

"Ah this is useless. I'll just call for it."

"I wouldn't do that, you might attract other titans."

"There's none around at the minute, we checked before coming out here, remember? It can't hurt to try anyway." He paused, inhaling deeply, before yelling out, "HEY, TITAN!"

I blinked in surprise; why on earth would they be calling for a titan? I didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Weird lady titan! The one who helped us the other day! Well, I don't know if you are a girl or not, but Hanna seems to think so!" I snorted quietly as his yelling began to deviate from the original purpose. It was good to know they at least figured out my gender.

"Anyway, you should come out!"

'_What? Did I hear that right? They __want__ me to come out?'_ My inner voice of common sense hovered with a lecturing demeanour, warning that to show myself would be very stupid, and quite possibly end very badly. However, being the completely danger-oblivious titan I apparently am turning out to be, I decided to ignore it. Besides, I was starting to get nervous, for their sakes.

I rocked myself forward onto my knees, using my makeshift backrest to support myself as I stood, thinking quickly. I wasn't exactly sure how to go about getting their attention without scaring them half to death; I didn't want to take them by surprise, if that was even possible. Fortunately, the decision was taken out of my hands by a conveniently placed beam of wood; the sound of it splintering beneath my foot reaching their ears with ease.

They whirled around, eyes wide with fright, betraying the fear they'd hidden beneath chipper voices and sarcastic remarks. I stepped out of the building's shadow so that they could see me properly, measuring my movements; there wasn't any use in hiding now.

Upon recognising me as their unlikely saviour, they seemed to calm slightly, but not by much; there was still a note of tension and instinctual fear about them. This was understandable, as every creature feels fear towards any that stand above them in the food chain; humans are no different in that regard.

Seeing that they had acknowledged my presence, I let out a sigh in an attempt calm my humming nerves, and began to cautiously approach the small group.

* * *

A/N: Yay! About time they had a chat! Well, I might be downplaying the situation slightly; these people have never heard of titan-shifters, they don't even know much about deviants (except that they act stranger then normal titans), so a friendly meeting with one is unheard of...

The titan (she'll get a name next chapter) shows some odd traits in this chapter, after finally being exposed to civilisation; she can't remember the word 'blonde', or much about babies, or if that's what they're called even. I'm in favour of continuing this first person snippet every so often to get into the mind of a human who has thrown away their humanity and what they would be like...

Hope you enjoyed, next chapter should be up soon~


	6. Not a Monster!

**Warning**: Mild swearing! I changed a few choice words so it was friendlier for younger eyes.

There is some unmarked dialogue in this chapter, but the characters' speaking styles are pretty individual, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out who says what.

Jonas is usually more blunt and swears lightly, Lena talks much how you'd imagine a little girl to - she is the only one who refers to Jonas as 'Jo-chan'. Hanna tends to have the more knowledgable, level-headed feel with her words. They may all use small Japanese terms from time to time. If you can't tell who's talking at a certain part, it most likely doesn't matter which of them it is.

BTW, big thank you to angelrider13 for her beautiful review and inspiring conversation! She is the author of the fic 'The Monsters are on the Inside', which is the main motivator for _this_ fic, and is absolutely amazing! I seriously recommend checking her stuff out! It's really cute and is gonna get really funny!

**Disclaimer: **Bahaha, it's all mine now! ...Sorry, my grip on sanity slips slightly when I get sick :P

* * *

**~ Not a Monster! ~**

* * *

_The day of the third expedition..._

* * *

"…chan. …Jo-chan. Jonas!" In the tiny, decrepit apartment, the raised voice echoed slightly off the walls, threatening to wake the swaddled bundle tucked in a corner of the room. Said boy jolted out of his daze, head jerking off the table, quickly wiping the excess moisture that had threatened to spill over his lip.

"Wha…? Sorry, I was zoned." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, gaging the temper of his summoner through his lashes.

Lena stood before a small kitchen bench, arms akimbo, brandishing a half-peeled potato in his direction threateningly. She was scowling slightly, cheeks puffed in dismay, before stomping impatiently on the stool she perched on.

"Hanna and I are doing all the work, while you're sitting there doing absolutely nothing! You could at least find something to do, after she went to the trouble of taking us in from the street!" Said girl smiled apologetically over the shorter girl's head, before waving a placative hand in Lena's direction.

"It's alright, Lena. Your brother has every right to be out of it, after what happened this morning…" She trailed off, before quickly changing the topic with a clap of her hands, "Alright, let's get the broth on to cook!"

Jonas had originally been in charge of tending the fire, but with it flickering away contentedly behind its grill, there wasn't much to be done. The three took seats around the rickety table as they waited; Hanna angling her needlework so that Lena could watch her, with Jonas left to return to his thoughts.

They had all been in a stupor for many hours after what happened; all he remembered was being ushered with the two girls, plus baby, to the stationary guard headquarters. He thought Corporal Herrman had asked Hanna some questions, and then they'd been given food and a shower; after living on the street for even only a little over a week, such small things were already welcome luxuries to the siblings.

Hanna had agreed to keep the baby, after hearing he would probably be left to die if she didn't, and had also opened her home to the homeless blondes; despite the fact that she was quite obviously short on money herself. After surviving such an ordeal together, the three found solace in the company of those who had shared the experience.

The apartment itself was one small room with kitchen, dining, and living spaces rolled into one, with a small bedroom tucked out of sight. The toilet was a shared one used by all on the floor. He wasn't sure how this arrangement was going to work, or why Hanna would even attempt it in the first place, but he hoped it would; the red-haired girl had grown on him already.

They could only count their lucky stars that the baby was weaning already, and that they'd been given formula to tide him over until he was able to eat regular foods mashed down. They'd already put aside some of the juices and soft potato from the broth to begin introducing him to other foods.

As Jonas lay stretched out on his back on a battered straw mat in front of the dying fire later that night, he sent a small plea out to any god that might be listening for this to work. He absently repositioned the tatty blanket over Lena's body, where was curled into his side, when she shifted slightly; he didn't personally believe there was a god, but if there was, they'd need whatever help they could get.

* * *

Although their personalities may not have been the perfect combination, there was no fighting to be heard from the group of youngsters. It was no time for such petty difficulties, even they could see that. They were an ungainly family, that was what they were now, with no one else left in this world to turn to. Family was those people on whom you could depend unwaveringly in times of crisis.

With everyone on meagre food rations to hopefully last at least to the end of winter, there was no pressing need for money. What little water they needed was pumped and carried, firewood was searched for, food was collected from the ration stations; in times of disaster, having the most fundamental needs met was all anyone needed.

Despite that, it appeared that they wouldn't have enough basic supplies for the upcoming winter, due to the sudden increase of people in the small house. Hanna turned a request in to the Stationary guard for their necessities; they were the ones that had emptied the houses of those dead or evacuated, creating a large stockpile of belongings to prevent thievery. A survey form of living conditions was filled out, and if the guard decided the need was relevant, an inspector was then sent to confirm that the report had been accurate before the requested items were sent.

The Stationary guard seemed to be in charge of everything these days; well they had no other option, really. No one had stepped up to take the position as Mayor after the last one killed himself. Despite the fact that they now functioned fairly smoothly, under Corporal Herrman's watch, it could be weeks before they got the extra items they needed. Winter would be here by then.

* * *

_The day of the fourth expedition..._

* * *

Despite the fact that their bones had turned to lead, they forced themselves to the meeting that would announce the names of the next forty people to leave the district; and although a sick lump of nausea weighed them down, they still piled into the supplies lift that would raise them to the top of the wall. Even though screams still rang in their ears and the warm heat of phantom blood splashed against their skin, they raised their eyes to watch the departure of the next clutch of sacrificial lambs.

Standing on the edge of the wall, they huddled together, making skin contact in any way possible - being held, gripping tightly, brushing up against and leaning into each other; the four young ones silently reaffirmed that they were there, that they were safe.

Despite themselves, their hearts silently yearned for the strange titan, their mysterious benefactor, to appear again and help these people too. But that couldn't happen; miracles were a one-off thing, that's why they were so special.

They almost couldn't believe it when they saw a titan, larger than the others, with long dark hair, tripping after the group, when almost no other titan could move. They hoped that they weren't superimposing features onto it with their anticipative eyes, for the sake of those people.

When the titan stopped before the group, halting the forward motion, the trio's breathing halted also. When it became obvious that the group was growing closer again, they let out breaths that audibly shook with relief. When the titan began eliminating those that would eat its wards, they grinned widely at each other, a euphoric feeling settling over them.

They ignored the disbelieving whispers around them; it was as if people were worried that speaking any louder would shatter the illusion they were seeing.

Amidst the quiet scoffing and fear, Jonas began to laugh, followed by shortly by Lena and Hanna; ignoring the disapproving and frightened looks from those around them. The laughter wasn't what a normal person would label as entirely sane, but neither was the look in the Corporal's eyes when they settled on them, glowing with the satisfaction of affirmation.

In this world, only those who could take madness in their stride would live and make it through with the good majority of their sanity intact and themselves thriving. Any 'normal' people would die, or 'break' as they attempted to revert back to their sheltered little lives.

Most people recognised them as 'those children,' the only ones to return alive with the aid of a titan; there were already rumours going around that they were secretly monsters themselves. Where there had been a small radius of distance between them and the crowd before, now a gap of many metres formed around them.

However, it wasn't just them celebrating when the Corporal gave the order to raise the gate and let the people in; family members of those that had been sent also began to smile and laugh weakly with relief, leaning against each other for support. Thus, the final expedition was over.

* * *

_A few days previous..._

* * *

They once more sat around the dinner table, only this time the atmosphere was rather different. Dinner was cooking once again, but instead of relaxing, they sat tersely, studying their hands, the walls, and the grain of the table, lost in thought.

It had only been one day since the titan had saved those people. _One day._ They had burst through the gate, crying tears of relief, blubbering about how they were lucky to be alive.

Their minds had seemingly changed overnight, opinions turning a good 180 degrees.

"_Oh, god, I have no idea how we managed to make it back with that awful titan trying to eat us."_

'_The sick bastard was using us as bait to reel in the others; what the hell sorta creature eats its own kind?"_

"_We're lucky to be alive, if that retched monster had…"_

Those who'd made it back, as if determined to damn their rescuer, were now parroting such opinions with a religious fervour, showcasing deep emotions, portrayed with frightening amounts of realism. Hanna had had to physically drag Jonas away, leaving Lena to teeter along behind her, loaded up with their rations for the next few days.

Thinking back, he wasn't quite sure why he'd gotten so angry just for the sake of a titan, but he knew that the blaze of righteous fury that burned in his chest was justified in its existence. He clenched his fist, before finally speaking to his companions civilly for the first time that evening.

"It's not true, none of it. Shit. That titan saved their rotten lives! The least they could do is keep their personal opinions to their no-good selves! What's wrong with them?"

Hanna sighed resignedly, running fingers through her short hair, "Don't be too hard on them; I think I've heard of something like this before. Apparently, when people are placed under huge amounts of stress, the brain can manipulate received information it can't process or doesn't understand in order to assimilate the new data input. Some of those people will now genuinely believe what they're saying; others are probably just being assholes." She frowned at her last statement.

"That titan helped us! It's friendly, for sure!" Lena chipped in, eyes hard with determination.

"She." The siblings turned to Hanna, cocking their heads in a silent question.

"The titan. I'm certain it's a female."

"Really?" Jonas was actually slightly surprised at this, "Well then… Oh, and even if you say that, Lena, there's no way to know for sure." He let his head loll onto the backrest, gazing blankly at the ceiling.

"About that… I want to meet up with her again." _That_ was definitely enough to jolt them back to the present.

"What! What the hell are you thinking?" "Really? Is that even allowed?"

Hanna studied their faces, gaging their reactions to what she was about to say, "I'm going to swipe a key for the old guardhouse and go to the other side of the wall."

"…You're crazy." She shrugged indifferently.

"She's definitely not a normal titan. She has excellent hand-eye coordination, and good muscle physique, she was smart enough to figure out how to open the gate, she was humming, and she laughed at something Jonas said." Hanna had been ticking off fingers as she listed her arguments, "Those are extremely unusual traits, for a titan; I want to know more about her. And, if she can understand me, and doesn't eat me, I would like to thank her for saving us."

"Haaah. And here I thought we'd be able to avoid being eaten for at least a fortnight before the next attempt; well, we made the halfway mark, at least."

"What? You two aren't coming with me."

"We have to come! We can't let you go out into dangerous titan land all by yourself!"

"Heh, I hate to agree with Lena on anything, but she _is_ right this time."

A heavy sigh. "If you two die, I'll never be able to forgive myself."

"Don't worry, we won't."

* * *

_Present..._

* * *

The three youths did somehow manage to steal a key from a drunk Stationary guard, and they bided their time as they waited for the streets to clear. By mid-afternoon, everyone was either inside or milling around in the central marketplace, leaving the gate relatively free of onlookers. They quickly slipped into the guard post, locking the door behind them.

They buzzed with nerves of both anxiety and excitement at the prospect of what they were doing. They quickly found that a small staircase rose to a slit in the wall that could be used to check for titans. They forced themselves not to linger, else their resolve begin to weaken.

It felt surreal to be on the inner side of Wall Maria again, the once-familiar township reduced mostly to rubble before them. As they stood on the remains of a relatively intact cottage, they peered around, trying to catch a glimpse of their female titan without falling off the sloping shingles.

They nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard the sound of wood crunching, although they were slightly relieved to see the titan in question. However, reality now jumped to the forefront of their thoughts and they too began to wonder if it hadn't all just been a huge coincidence.

It was only with strict force of will that they stayed as they were, when the titan began to approach them.

* * *

Hanna could feel her heart pulsing painfully fast in her chest as she watched the titan with sharp eyes, looking for any signs that could prove or dispute her apparent sentience. As she observed her, she noticed the titan almost seemed wary of them. Her movements were small and slow, and large eyes were fixed solely on them. She could feel no ill intent from the gaze; it seemed that they were both sizing up the other party.

She let out a shaky breath, tilting her head back slightly so she could make eye contact. Despite the fact that the titan had stopped a distance away, her height meant they were still looking up. Unsettled, she began to babble.

"Umm, hi! Thanks for coming out; we weren't sure if you could understand human speech or not, so this was a gamble for us. Anyway, we wanted to thank you for saving us, and perhaps ask why? …Can you understand me?"

They all blinked when the titan seemed to consider the words, before nodding slowly. Lena began to grin, leaping back to her feet and running to the edge of the roof closest to the titan. Considering she'd been the most scared, she showed an uncanny ability to adapt to new situations.

"So you _can_ understand us! That's so cool, I didn't know titans could! Hey, hey, you saved us the other day, right? And you saved all those people too; you're a really good person, you know! Thank you!" She was practically grinning all over her face at the titan.

Jonas face-faulted at this, and said recipient of the dazzling innocence seemed taken aback, completely not expecting such a reception. Lena suddenly became serious again, frowning slightly.

"Hey, Miss Lady Titan, do you have a name?" The two older humans blinked at the question; the possibility hadn't even occurred to them.

The titan shook her head again, and a slightly melancholic aura seeming to settle over her.

"Really? How do people call you then?" Jonas was the one to talk now, throwing himself down next to the apex on which Lena stood.

She levelled a blank stare at him; her large mouth curling slightly into what he swore was a sarcastic grin.

"Ah. I see. I guess you've had your fair share of 'Argh, the big horrible man-eating titan's going to eat me!', right?" The grin grew a little, and he saw humour spark in her eyes.

"Well, I guess we could try some names, but I don't know any that's suitable off the top of my head. Things like Bertha and Gabi don't seem right…"

"Hannelore, Ida, Seffi, Asta, Lenore, Yvonne…?" Lena's face was scrunched up in concentration as she thought, "I can't think of any more that might fit, but none of those sound exactly right."

"…What about Nadine?" Hanna was approaching now along the ridge of the roof, eyes contemplative. The titan made a thoughtful noise at that, prompting her to continue.

"My grandmother told me once before she died that it meant 'hope' in some of the older languages. I think it sorta fits, don't you?" The titan, Nadine, nodded, seemingly pleased at receiving a name, at last.

The four made an odd picture; a titan crouched down on one knee so as to not intimidate the humans that were before it, a small boy and girl, lying on, and sitting with legs dangling over the edge, of the roof respectively, and an older girl standing at ease behind them.

"So, is there anyone else like you?"

"…**Just me."** They could have jumped a mile high for the shock that the slow, hoarse voice had given them. They gaped at Nadine in shock.

"What? You can talk?! Whoa!" "Wow, you have such a deep voice!"

"How did you learn to talk? I was sure that titans' vocal cords must have been incapable of speech..."

"**Not that. Can't remember…more like."** Hearing her speak a second time hadn't decreased the novelty of the situation; Lena was jumping about in excitement.

"It must be hard for you to talk, sounds like you have used your voice in decades," Jonas noted, surpassed to receive an affirmative nod. Further questioning, however, was cut short by Lena's yelp as she disappeared from the roof.

* * *

"Lena!" A piece of the tiling had broken off under her foot, causing her to slip right off the edge. Jonas and Hanna threw themselves over, peering down. They weren't the first there though. Nadine had apparently been watching the girl and had seen her equilibrium tip as she began to fall, quickly thrusting a hand out to catch the child.

She now stared up at the in shock from the giant palm, waving slightly in answer to her siblings' worried calls. She now considered Hanna as much her sister as Jo-chan was her brother. She turned to look at Nadine as the titan brought her up to her face for inspection.

"**Okay?"** Her voice was even deeper and rougher, with a sublime growl beneath her words that vibrated audibly through the air, at this close distance. She collected herself, smiling gratefully up at her saviour-twice-over.

"Hai~ Thank you again! That's twice you've saved me now! I'm really grateful!" She began to frown again as her thoughts returned to darker matters, ignorant of Jonas' calls.

"Hey! Don't go leaving us out! I want in on the conversation too!" The giant hand was lowered to them also, and they didn't bother to hesitate as they clambered on. This titan had already held them before, and was clearly just as sentient as any ordinary human; her hand was undoubtedly the safest place to be in this crumbling titan-infested town.

Nadine appeared to be weighing something up in her mind before she began to head back towards the guardhouse. They had to crouch down in order not to be thrown around by the jolt as she seated herself against the wall a short distance away from the post. When she sighed, vapour hissed out from between her lips, dissipating quickly into the cool breeze that had sprung up.

"You know, those people that you helped, most of them aren't grateful at all. They're saying really horrible things about you, and calling you mean names; they even said you were trying to eat them!"

Lena's sudden fury was disorientating, but quickly reminded the siblings of the reason why they'd come to investigate the mysterious titan's intelligence themselves in the first place. Jonas gritted his teeth, and Hanna clenched her jaw; upon discovering that Nadine did, indeed, have sentience, they felt even more incensed on her behalf.

"…**Not surprising."** She seemed a mixture of exasperated and resigned at hearing the news, closing her eyes against the setting sun. They looked at her in disbelief.

"What? How can you accept that? You clearly didn't have to go out of your way for them, why should they be allowed to mouth off about you like that?" Jonas tried to keep his voice down now that they were closer to the wall.

"**There's no denying…that I'm a monster."**

"What are you saying, Nadine! You're not a monster! Definitely not; those filthy pigs are the monsters!"

"…**Isn't it you…who are strange?"** They took a breath, ready to raise their arguments, but were stopped by Hanna's raised arm.

"She's right, you know. Think about it, we're already really different from those in the district. You've heard what they call us, 'monster children.'" A disquieted silence settled for a short time after that statement.

"**Baby. What happened to it?"**

"Hmm? Oh, you mean Arua? We left him asleep at home when we came to sneak out here; he was fed just before we broke into the guardhouse, but he'll probably be waking up for another feed sometime soon. He's doing well, considering."

"Ne, Deena," It never ceased to amaze Jonas how quickly Lena came up with nicknames for people, "are you okay? You don't seem very well."

Nadine smiled gently, eyes still closed, **"Sunset." **It took a few seconds for them to register what she meant.

"Oh! That's right, you can't move around at night! Do you sleep during that time?"

"…**Sort of. Hard to explain."**

Hana sighed as she pulled herself to her feet**, **turning to her younger siblings, "C'mon, we should probably call it a day too. Even though we aren't feeling it because of Nadine's high body temperature, the air has gotten quite cold. That, and I think we should check on Arua."

None of them were in a hurry to leave, but they saw the necessity of what she was saying. Once returned to the ground, they quickly ran to the door, calling promises of visiting again, although they couldn't say when that would be. Both groups went their separate ways, feeling the surreal-ness of what had just happened washing over them.

For the first time, there was hope for those behind the wall; in the form of a titan by the name of Nadine.

* * *

A/N: Well, that was longer than expected.

Nadine's dialogue is obviously the bolded text - to emphasise the fact that her voice is deep and rumbles. And the titans can talk, sometimes. In Ilse Lagnar's chapter, you see the titan talk to her a little; so it's not the fact that their throats are incapable of speech.

I thought that a small index for Japanese words was in order (for any who don't already know). Sorry if there's mistakes.

Hope you enjoyed! I've discovered that reviews, favs, and follows seriously motivate me to write more! So please do, if you like it~

* * *

**Japanese Index:** I will be using small Japanese words or expressions from time to time. Jonas' nickname of Jo-chan will be the only honorific featured, unless I can think of something else that fits him; I decided to call him that _waaay_ before I wrestled with the dilemma of honorifics.

_- Hai: Translates to 'yes' in english, or in different contexts, 'I'm on it', and 'Yes, sir'._

_- Ne: (Pronounced 'neh' not 'nee') Roughly equates to 'hey,' or 'oi' when used at the beginning of a sentence, depending on the context. Used to mean something like 'don't you think?', or 'Isn't that so?' when used on the end of a sentence._

**You might have to tell me if you see an unfamiliar one that I haven't listed, as I don't always notice. I speak like this a lot in everyday life, so...**


	7. Devilish Dealings

Thank you to my lovely fav-ers (now a word), followers, and reviewers! I really appreciate them; they make me smile and open/add to a word document. Big thanks to Shrapnel893, angelrider13, Guest, nix, bigger-on-the-inside-fandoms, Anon Y. Mous Shy, and Atsirk Enoh for reviewing~

Guest: Thanks, I will! Haha, well now, that is actually a very good point you have raised! You will have to wait and see~ Mwahaha!

Nix: Good to know! Here's more for you to enjoy

I will respond to other reviewers after I post this! Don't worry, I love you all!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own SnK.

* * *

**~ Devilish Dealings ~**

* * *

A week, or possibly even two, had passed since 'The Interference'; winter was closer than ever, breathing chilled gales down the spines of its victims, anticipating free rein. Most were now grim and sallow-faced, lamenting their loses and bracing themselves for the unforgiving cold. With most citizens in this state, it made those who maintained a spark of life stand out sharply.

No one had forgotten the four 'devil' children that had first been rescued by the titan; in fact, the matter had received a huge amount of attention, especially after 'The Interference', as the happenings of the fourth expedition had been dubbed. Despite what the children had been through, they held more life than those who observed them from the gutters or windows.

They ran through the streets, chattering excitedly amongst themselves and bubbling over with anticipatory laughter. This, despite the way their too lean limbs quaked with the cold, which seeped through clothes obviously not meant for winter-wear, and tripped a little from fatigue. It was unusual, for anyone to be this way anymore. Children followed them with longing eyes, and parents and grandparents watched their antics with fond, and in most cases, sorrowful eyes.

Slowly, the children's warmth had begun to weaken the walls that enclosed the hearts of those around them, without even noticing. If the ration dealer for their area noticed that he'd given them a little extra, he said nothing of it; and when lady next door accidentally mixed a few items of warm clothing into their laundry, she protested that she didn't want them back, as it reminded her too much of her son.

However, this was only for those with whom the children registered as a familiar fixture. Everyone else recoiled in their presence, or kicked at, shoved, and spat on them if they were in range. 'Devil Spawn,' 'Monster Children,' and, the most venomous of all, 'Titan Scum.' That was the one that usually accompanied the physical abuse; no one understood the strange grin that they'd give when called that, and it only made the abusers hit harder.

As those closer to the children began to awake from their fear-induced stupor, they saw for certain that children couldn't possibly be what was said of them. Many of them had known at least one of kids for most of their life. Although that didn't mean much, as all had become estranged from each other during the madness, it had to count for something.

But despite the harsh treatment, they would always pick themselves up, dust their clothes, and then flip their attackers off as they ran away. The strange gleam in their eyes never left; what was it? That spark, surely it was hope? What excited those children so, what gave them the hope that things would improve, that they wouldn't be pushed around forever?

They yearned to know this for themselves.

* * *

Herrman sat in his office, legs crossed, twirling a pen thoughtfully between two fingers. He gazed unseeing at the roaring fire, currently filling his office with comforting warmth, as his thoughts roamed.

A lot had happened since 'The Interference'; his lips twisted slightly at the label, before schooling back to an expression of blankness. While childish and awkward, he supposed the term was the most convenient way of calling the incident. Speaking of which…

His thoughts again turned to the kids. Thoughts of them had been preying on his mind for days now. He had tried to question them as soon as they returned from the third expedition, but found them still too overwhelmed by shock to comprehend much; and he had been too preoccupied with planning the fourth expedition, and later sorting out an uncontrollable mountain of work, to attempt to catch up with them since.

He wanted answers. Why had the titan helped them? Why did it bring them back? Hell, why did it help _him_, an obvious threat to itself? And then it went and rescued a good thirty people all at once. Such behavior was an anomaly among titans.

He had recently received word that one of the guardhouse keys had gone missing; he was appalled that something so important hadn't reached him sooner. Those kids were the first ones that came to mind. He had seen them every so often as he went about his business; they had an air of defiance around them, and yelled at anyone they overheard bad-mouthing their unlikely benefactor.

As he enquired further, he discovered that they often hung around the gate, and would disappear for many hours of the day. They were the biggest suspects of the key's theft, but if that was indeed the case, it could only mean that they were sneaking out to meet the strange titan.

His curiosity itched to know more, and these brats could very well give him a way to satisfy that itch.

It was only shortly after sunrise, but it wasn't like they could deny him entrance to their apartment, the location of which he'd discovered earlier. Maybe he should pay them a visit…

* * *

He frowned when there was no answer to his insistent knocking; surely they couldn't be sleeping that heavily? He knew there was a baby among their number, it should have been crying by now, at least. Feeling his gut twist slightly, unsettled, he tried the doorknob. The feeling only intensified when it turned without resistance; no one left their doors unlocked at this time, and he knew the older girl was bright enough to know that.

Pulling the door open, he quickly strode into the freezing room; the fire had obviously been dead for the majority of the night. Looking around, his fears were confirmed. The place had been ransacked, chairs had been overturned and belongings were strewn across the floor. A dented frying pan showed possible signs of a struggle, ruling out the possibility of a simple theft.

His blood chilled slightly at the sight of dark red spots on the floor; it wasn't too much, but the blood showed signs of quite an injury. In this weather, such a thing could easily kill a person. Which begged the question, where were they?

The attackers had clearly left long ago, but whether or not they had the children with them remained unknown. He tried one of the neighbouring units, knocking until a bony middle-aged woman appeared before him. She quickly informed him that there had been a struggle yesterday evening, but she had been powerless to assist. He noticed she seemed sad, but also relieved, when she told him she thought they'd gotten away.

"Do you have any ideas as to where they may have fled?"

She seemed to consider this, mind working through the haze of sleep, "I think that they've been running off to visit a new friend of theirs recently, so it's likely that they'd go to them. I don't know who that is, or where they live, though."

She paused, letting her demeanour relax, before adding, "I'm happy that there is still someone willing to show the little ones affection. With the horrid stories going around, I'm surprised they are still so lively."

Herrman had indeed heard the rumours flying about the 'demon children', but had been too busy to interfere at that time, barely having time enough to sleep. He filed away the information she had given, nodding his head slightly in thanks.

"My thanks to you, madam. I will attempt to track them down." He made to leave.

"Corporal," He paused, throwing a glance over his shoulder, "while I am aware that they are in Hanna's capable hands, she's barely sixteen herself. Becoming a young mother of three while having to endure such hatred would be hard for anyone. I can imagine that they are probably quite terrified right now; please find them quickly." He nodded in affirmation, continuing on his way.

* * *

Where could they be? The woman mentioned a friend, but there was little chance of him tracking that person down quickly. He leant up against the corner of an apartment block, studying the gate as he thought.

'_Where? Assuming they didn't go to their friend's house, what would be the next likely place a bunch of orphans would take refuge?'_

They couldn't have stayed outside, that would be risking their death, already panes of glass were freezing over and frost crackled beneath his feet. Moreover, at least one of them was injured, and they had the baby with them, making them incredibly vulnerable.

His eyes suddenly snapped into focus on the guardhouse beside the gate, barely visible from where he stood. He had originally come to inquire as to whether the key was in their possession; it wasn't so difficult to believe that they, in their panic-hazed minds, could have run to find their titan protector, the one who had saved them before. He just had to hope they hadn't been eaten.

Ignoring the few people on the street, he quickly activated his 3D manoeuvre gear, flying towards, and then up, the wall. Without hesitation, he lightly ran across the wall width and threw himself down the other side, falling a good distance before bringing himself to a neat stop.

There were a few titans lying around in the township below him, crushing buildings beneath their enlarged bodies. He scanned for any sign of the familiar titan, eventually spotting it tucked up close to the wall, beside the guardhouse.

He shot across the wall so that he hung above it, cautiously lowering himself further to its level. Its eyes were closed; head slumped back against the wall, knees drawn up to the chest, with hands tucked out of view behind the legs. He proceeded slowly, fairly certain it wouldn't eat him, but ready to act at a moment's notice.

Hearing the whir of his gear, the titan opened its eyes, rolling them upwards to focus on him. It snorted, seemingly recognising him, before stretching out one of its legs slightly, so that the knee was further from its face. It appeared to want him to do something, and it took him a few moments to catch on.

"No matter how much more sentience you appear to have than an ordinary titan, I'm not going to sit on your knee." A quiet rumble came from its mouth, sounding suspiciously like laughter.

"**I'm surprised. I thought you would jump at the offer, little stalker."**

If someone told Herrman that he appeared to have jumped out of his own skin in his surprise at that moment, he would definitely believe them. He gaped at the titan.

"You can talk?" There was no denying that, no matter how slurred and halting, the titan had spoken to him.

"**Indeed. How observant."** If it had been a human speaking to him, he would have be certain of the use of sarcasm; even now he was able to see that the corners of the titan's mouth were tipped upwards in amusement, accompanying the rasping drawl.

"… Well, then. That's surprising."

"**It would be nice if you could be surprised down here. I'm getting a neck ache."** Without further consideration, he shot a line at a house, using it to pull him to his destination. He turned and studied the titan's face, taking in its features.

"**I'm glad to see you, Corporal. I need your assistance."**

He blinked at the address, "How do you know my rank? And I don't know how I could be of help to a titan, besides making a good snack."

She, for it was obvious that the titan was female, smirked again, but it was soon replaced by a frown.

"**I've heard you called that before. And it's not I who needs the help."**

She straightened out her other leg, folding it underneath the one on which he stood, revealing cupped hands held against her chest. He knew almost immediately that the ones he sought were within her grasp. He kept his face impassive as he studied the children she revealed; the oldest girl had the baby strapped to her, and the two other siblings were held close. It appeared that it was they who had been injured.

They began subconsciously shivering in an immediate response to the cold draft that now reached them, causing the titan to replace her hand. The two remained silent, Herrman lost in thought as the titan observed him.

"Why are you doing this? Your actions up until now prove that you seem to place some value in human life; and this act of kindness shows conclusively that you care what happens to these children, at least. But you are a titan, therefore you shouldn't care about humans and, instead, want to eat us."

"… **I am a titan; that much is true. However, I am not like 'them'. I also don't want 'them' to hurt my humans. To protect my little ones, and the rest in the little nest; that's what I want. If I must fight, then I shall do so."**

When he looked at the large green-red eyes, he could see so much within their depths. So deep, so full of understanding, so capable of emotion; so very _human_. _'Just how long has she lived?'_ Herrman found himself wondering.

"What is your name?" The titan blinked, observing him closely, answering only after finding whatever it was for which she had been searching.

"**Nadine."**

* * *

The children had been escorted to the garrison after they had awoken, and were given showers, warmer clothes, and medical treatment, before being brought to his office. He had proceeded to question them about Nadine; at first they had been defiant, refusing to answer, but upon mentioning the titan by name, they immediately opened up. He discovered that it was they who named her, and that they had been visiting her numerous times throughout the past fortnight. They hadn't known much of her background, however.

He had allowed them to keep the key, on the condition that they only visited her in his company. The younger ones had protested, but Hanna had graciously accepted the conditions. They had been back to visit more times since then, while still attempting to keep the activity hidden from his subordinates' eyes. He had to prove to himself that she was safe before introducing the idea to them.

It had been on one such visit that he had made mention of Shiganshina, speculating the damage that had been done there. Nadine had sighed and shaken her head sadly, saying that it was mostly ruins. After overcoming his surprise, he had peppered her with questions, few of which she'd been able to answer. When asking about the guard there, after explaining that they were the ones who wore 3D manoeuvre gear like his, her eyes had lit up in comprehension, and she had moved off to fetch something previously stashed in the ruins of a large building.

To his surprise, she had returned with her hands filled with manoeuvre gears, most of which were in good shape, excluding the harness. She explained that she had removed them from the remains of soldiers, but had thought to bring the ones in better shape to leave them with any humans she might come across. He also noticed the large slab she held, and was surprised to find it to be a register, of sorts. On the board was a list of the numbers of people who had died, split into categories: male - female, soldier - civilian, older - younger - child. If he had any lingering doubts as to her intelligence, seeing her ability to read and write for himself would have banished them then and there.

This titan was a huge advantage for humanity, one which he fully intended to utilise. It helped that she seemed to find his presence comfortable enough, as they often passed a lot of time talking together. She asked many questions about how life in the walls worked and the politics behind it, while he inquired about the outer lands beyond the walls and the habits and weaknesses of titans. He even began to bounce his political and military agendas off her, and was incredibly pleased to find that Nadine had a brain that worked much like his own. He wasn't sure how he should feel knowing that he considered the titan as his closest advisor and confidant.

* * *

_Almost two months later..._

* * *

As time had passed, Nadine's vocal ability only improved; her vocabulary had grown, and she suffered less with words her abnormal mouth had difficulty articulating. Even her dysarthria*, caused again by the construction of her mouth and unfamiliarity with conversing, improved drastically. Winter was reaching its last leg, with a little more than one more month left until it gave way to spring. It couldn't come too soon, as far as Herrman was concerned.

They had, as he feared, began running out of supplies too soon, and it looked like many would be going hungry for the last weeks of the season. They had already begun to bury those who couldn't hold out, succumbing to illness. While that contributed slightly to the remaining rations, many more would need to die to allow everyone left alive to eat. While grim, it was the simple facts.

It was only recently that he'd thought up a plan to try and outpace the hunger. They couldn't eat the titans, but there were still many animals left alive within Wall Maria; if there was a way to set traps, hundreds of them, they would, theoretically, be able to catch said animals - both domestic and wild. The thought would be ludicrous, if they didn't have a feasible way of leaving the district.

When he brought up the idea to Nadine, she seemed more than happy; he assumed that it mustn't be very pleasant, watching people starve to the death before your eyes while being able to do nothing about it. It soon became obvious that she wouldn't be able to set the traps herself; while she was way more agile and nimble fingered than anything else her size, her fingers were simply too large for the intricacy of the ropes. Someone would have to go with her beyond the district to set the traps, and it was clear that that 'someone' would be him. Out of all who knew of her existence and trusted her, he was the only one old enough, strong enough, and skilled enough, to go with her.

They had made a trial run first, taking twenty-five snares with them, only promising to return once they were all set. They had headed straight for nearby woods and villages; knowing much of the area around the district proved to be a huge aid. It took all day, from sunrise to after sunset, and they nearly didn't make it back in time for Nadine to shut down for the night. They had also proven lucky enough to come across some old snares set by members of a nearby hunting village, and had reset them after removing any carcasses.

They resolved to wait for two days before checking the traps again, long enough that his subordinates wouldn't fluster at being abandoned again, but as soon as possible to see if this was a feasible plan. He had given the children the task of tying more snares, after teaching them how to do so and supplying the materials, as he didn't have the time to do so himself; it kept them occupied for days, and he often found himself checking on them, to make sure they were still eating and sleeping. At least they'd had their winter requirements met.

* * *

As he had departed for the second time, he found his rather stone-like heart warmed slightly by the well-wishes and encouraging waves that issued forth from the guardhouse. He had told the youngsters to return straight home after seeing him off; an unusual faction of people had formed a few weeks ago, causing dissent and a lack of ease among the people. The situation had the potential to turn quite ugly, and he intended to track down a ringleader and ask what it was they wanted once he returned.

He didn't bother to suppress a self-satisfied grin that afternoon as they returned from their trip; it had gone well, about half of the traps had caught deer and even a couple of cows that had escaped their pens. The deer they'd killed, but he'd had Nadine return the cows to a fenced paddock for safe-keeping.

He rode on her shoulder, keeping a casual hold of her hair with one hand; he didn't particularly want to fire grapples into her neck, but he didn't want to fall off either. He smirked as he remembered the scene that had been Nadine's first hair wash, involving copious amounts of horse shampoo and a nearby river; at least it had paid off, he much preferred to touch clean, tangle-free hair then that horrid rat's nest.

The deer were now held loosely in Nadine's over-sized hands, making sure not to crush them; after the practice of 'playing' with her small charges, she was relatively gentle. Still, unlike the muscle groove he currently sat in, much of her body was covered in impenetrable, thick skin. Her hands, feet, arms and legs, and even the area of her upper back and the nape of her neck; no matter how you looked at it, she was built for hand-to-hand combat, without the need to protect any vital organs.

However, as they left the cover of the wood nearest the district, his smile slipped, eyes growing wide in horror. Nadine too paused mid-step, before quickly upping her pace into a full-fledged run, sprinting towards the district; giving Herrman no choice but to grapple to her so as not to be thrown off. Although they were still quite a way away, there was no mistaking what they were seeing.

The gate was open and titans were milling around it, slipping through the space into the district. His heart hammered adrenaline through his body at a painful rate, as if pumping faster would help him arrive sooner. He wanted to cry out in protest when he felt Nadine skid to a stop on the dirt road, carefully placing her load next to a lone house.

As she picked up speed once more, she lifted her hand to her shoulder, her eyes sparkling in the way that informed him she had a plan. Grappling to her hand instead, he yelled an apology for hitting her softer skin with the sharp grapple hooks, crouching in her palm. He was surprised when she covered him with her other hand, and pulled him up closer to her head.

**"I hope you're not scared of heights or high speeds,"** she rumbled, sounding suspiciously apologetic.

He was about to call out for an explanation when he froze. The movement of her arms, it felt highly similar to the way she had moved when Jonas had been teaching her the 'right way' to throw a ball, not that there had been any for her to use, bar large lumps of rubble. As she wound back for the throw, he removed his grapples and braced himself, praying that she had at least moderate aim. He felt her stride stutter slightly, much like a javelin-thrower, before he was moving forwards, faster and faster, and suddenly he was flying through the air.

He somersaulted, righting his body as he flew, watching as Wall Maria approached. His relieved sigh was snatched from his lips as he cleared the wall, looking back to catch a glimpse of her still sprinting towards the district. Instead of trying to slow himself as he fell towards the ground below, he grappled forwards onto a building, and began to fly through the streets faster than any human should be able to move.

When he grappled to a tower, spinning around it loosely in order to lose some momentum, he began to get an idea of the scope of horrors happening within the district. Setting his jaw with a rough noise of disgust, he rocketed himself towards the closest group of titans

* * *

**A/N:** That was rather mean of me. Those poor people, I'm so cruel to them. I should probably apologise, but as it's an important plot point, they'll just have to deal. There is a reason for this, it has been building up through the last couple of chapters; you'll just have to wait and see~

I liked the two references at the end to Nadine's first hair-wash and learning how to play baseball (or its likeness in SnK world), perhaps I shall write them out one day...

I needed a term to explain Nadine's speech impairment, so I found the one below from;

'Speech Disorders: Symptoms and Causes' - Wellness . com (remove spaces)

It fits her symptoms perfectly, so there you go. I mean no offence to any who happen to suffer from this in real life.

_***Dysarthria**: Often called slurred speech, is defined as slow, imprecise, and distorted speech that is the result of weakness, paralysis, spasticity, or the inability to control or coordinate the muscle used during speech._

Hope you enjoyed, will be back soon with more!


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